title: Will the idiotypic network help to solve natural tolerance?
abstract: A recent paper on immunity and tolerance to antigenic determinants on antibody variable-regions (idiotypes) brings back to light the potential of idiotypic interactions among antibodies, B cells and T cells in the regulation of specific immune activities. The functional significance of idiotypic regulation has been established in a variety of systems, both concerning the establishment of 'pre-immune' diversity repertoires as well as the clonal regulation of immune responses to foreign and self-antigens. Also, recently the requirement for 'dominant' regulatory mechanisms in natural tolerance has received increasing support. It might thus be fruitful to evaluate the possibility that an idiotypic network has a fundamental role in the operation of the regulatory T cells that establish and maintain self-tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, PT-2781-901, OEIRAS, Portugal. coutinho@igc.gulbenkian.pt
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coutinho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D017634:Self Tolerance; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes