title: The role of peptide in the positive selection of CD8+ T cells in the thymus.
abstract: Recent experiments using fetal thymus organ culture (FTOC) systems derived from class I deficient mice have provided evidence supporting the view that specific recognition of class I MHC plus peptide complexes is required for the positive selection of CD8+ T cells. The addition of class I binding peptides to FTOC systems derived from beta 2-microglobulin and TAP 1 deficient mice induced the positive selection of CD8+ T cells in a peptide specific manner. The specific recognition of peptide during positive selection implies that the repertoire of specificity's exhibited by CD8+ T cells is at least in part determined by the repertoire of self-peptides presented by class I MHC in the thymus.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Ashton-Rickardt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D015329:Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016827:CD8 Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D010455:Peptides