A new foreign policy: MHC class I molecules monitor the outside world.
Although most cells exclusively use their major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules to present peptides from endogenous proteins, phagocytes also use them to present exogenous antigens. Here, Kenneth Rock describes how this novel antigen-presenting pathway may play an important role in immune surveillance for intracellular bacteria or parasites, as well as for viral infections and tumors affecting somatic tissues.
Rock
K L
KL
Division of Lymphocyte Biology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Kenneth_Rock@dfci.harvard.edu
D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D004705:Endocytosis; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000502:physiology*
D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I