title: B-cell superantigens: molecular and cellular implications.
abstract: B cell superantigens are proteins that are capable of immunoglobulin variable region mediated binding interactions with the naive B cell repertoire at frequencies that are orders of magnitude greater than occur for conventional antigens. Within this review we discuss recent observations regarding the molecular basis of these interactions and the distribution of superantigen binding capacities in different human B cell populations. These findings and current predictions regarding the relevance of these proteins to the physiologic development of immune repertoires are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0663, USA. gsilverman@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Nayak
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: La Cava
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000915:Antibody Affinity; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D001666:Binding Sites, Antibody / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000378:metabolism; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000378:metabolism; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012795:Sialoglycoproteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018089:Superantigens / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C089422:Fv protein, human; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region; D008222:Lymphokines; D012795:Sialoglycoproteins; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A; D018089:Superantigens