Major histocompatibility complex-based suppression: a mechanism for T-cell control.
The crucial cell for immune system control is the T-cell. Current theories for T-cell control lack a credible mechanism for active down-regulation, because any mechanism that actively switches off T-cells must be secure from duplication by invading organisms. This hypothesis presents a system for T-cell control which is secure because it requires recognition of the highly polymorphic molecules of the MHC by the T-cell receptor as the down-regulatory mechanism, thus using the MHC as a form of individual security code.
Nuffield Department of Surgery, University of Oxford, UK.
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Gray
D000818:Animals; D015536:Down-Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex / Q000276:immunology*; D018448:Models, Immunological; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*