Degeneracy of H-2 recognition by cytotoxic T lymphocytes: 10% of the total repertoire is "specific" for a given haplotype and up to 1% is self-H-2 reactive.
The frequency of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) precursors in the total CTL pool was analyzed in a lectin-driven limiting dilution system. We found that up to 10% of the expressed CTL repertoire in a normal mouse is "specific" for a given allogeneic H-2 haplotype. Split-well analysis under clonal conditions demonstrates that the antigens recognized by the effector CTL are H-2 encoded. A high frequency of CTL "specific" for self-H-2 antigens was revealed in all the experiments, accounting for about 1% of the total inducible pool of CTL. These results suggest a high degree of degeneracy of H-2 recognition by CTL and the immunocompetence of self-H-2-reactive CTL precursors in normal individuals.
D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D000939:Epitopes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006238:Haploidy; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*
D000939:Epitopes; D006183:H-2 Antigens