The thymus selects the useful, neglects the useless and destroys the harmful.
Although efficient at reacting to foreign antigen in the context of MHC, mature T cells do not normally react to self antigens presented by self MHC. In this review, Harald von Boehmer and colleagues describe the investigation of self MHC restriction and self-tolerance using TCR transgenic mice expressing a receptor for the male-specific minor histocompatibility antigen, H-Y, in the context of class I H-2Db MHC antigens, on many of their T cells. CD4-8+ T cells expressing the transgenic receptor were positively selected by the restricting H-2Db MHC antigens in female transgenic mice. In the male TCR transgenic mice, CD4+8+ thymocytes were deleted, and transgene-expressing T cells with high surface-density of CD8 were-absent from the periphery. The remaining T cells could not be activated by male H-Y stimulator cells, as they lacked or expressed only low levels of CD8 molecules.
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D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006182:H-Y Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D064532:Histocompatibility Antigen H-2D; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic / Q000276:immunology; D008954:Models, Biological; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*
D006183:H-2 Antigens; D006182:H-Y Antigen; D064532:Histocompatibility Antigen H-2D; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins