Role of B cell antigen processing and presentation in the humoral immune response.
In the 25 years since it was first indicated that lymphocyte subpopulations must interact during the generation of a humoral immune response, there has been an explosion of data on the molecular mechanism of this interaction. It has been demonstrated that T cells recognize a processed antigen fragment presented by a major histocompatibility complex molecule on the surface of an antigen-presenting cell. The minimal peptides required for T cell recognition of several proteins have been determined, the molecular genetics of many of the cell surface molecules involved have been defined, and the three-dimensional structure of the T cell receptor and the major histocompatibility antigens have been deduced. Several cell types have been found to act as antigen-presenting cells, although the roles of these populations in vivo remain unclear. However, it is clear that there must be a physical interaction between a B cell and a T cell before the B cell can respond to a T-dependent antigen. This interaction requires processing and presentation of the antigen by the B cell. Therefore this review focuses on antigen processing and presentation by resting B cells, one of the key steps in initiation of a humoral immune response.
Myers
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Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38163.
D000917:Antibody Formation; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D005802:Genes, MHC Class II; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000502:physiology; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D007136:Immunoglobulins