The specificity of cellular immune responses in guinea pigs. III. The precision of antigen recognition by T lymphocytes.
T lymphocytes from guinea pigs immunized with 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) derivatives of mycobacteria respond to a variety of DNP conjugates. Preincubation of such cells with a given DNP conjugate under conditions which lead to the inactivation of responding cells causes a loss of the response to that conjugate, but has little effect on the response to DNP coupled to unrelated carriers. Thus, the responses of such cells to a variety of DNP conjugates can best be explained by the presence of a mixture of highly specific cells each responding to a different antigenic dterminant rather than by the presence of T cells with specificity limited to the hapten itself. Furthermore, the activity of T cells from DNP-mycobacteria-primed donors could not be blocked by a variety of nonstimulatory DNP conjugates. This suggests that while such T cells clearly recognize DNP with great precision, the receptor does not contain a very high affinity site for the hapten. A possible model for such a T-cell receptor is discussed.
D000818:Animals; D001202:Ascitic Fluid / Q000276:immunology; D001665:Binding Sites; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004136:Dinitrobenzenes / Q000276:immunology*; D000939:Epitopes; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006241:Haptens; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008027:Light; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D009578:Nitrobenzenes / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004136:Dinitrobenzenes; D000939:Epitopes; D006241:Haptens; D009578:Nitrobenzenes; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine