title: Differentiation among T lymphocytes. The cloning approach.
abstract: The immune response comprises a complex series of cellular interactions between antigen-presenting cells (APC) of various types and a large number of subsets of lymphocytes which belong to two main categories: B cells or the precursors of antibody-secreting cells derived from the bone marrow and T cells which do not produce antibodies and are derived from the thymus. Experiments in the last decade have led to the identification of numerous subsets of T and B cells and to the realization that the cell interactions in immune responses are extremely complex, consisting essentially of circuits and feedback loops integrated into an intricate network. We have now reached a stage where it is difficult to distinguish between what is actually happening in a response and what is thought to be occurring to fit the investigator's preconceived notions. Clearly one of the ways out of this dilemma is to clone each individual cell type within a circuit in order to identify its characteristics unequivocally, and then to attempt to reconstruct the circuit with all the cloned cells artificially. We realize that this procedure may not be optimal, since the sum is always greater than the parts, but it must surely allow a more precise identification of some of the cell types and their effects.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D008211:Lymphocyte Cooperation; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D051379:Mice; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal