Is transplantation tolerable?
To test the hypothesis that chronic stimulation of T cells with a weak agonistic antigen will generate regulatory T cells and immune tolerance, a study reported in this issue employed the redesign of a minor histocompatibility antigen. Using knowledge of residues at which the antigen contacts the T cell receptor, a weak agonist was produced. Pretreatment with this altered antigen produced transplant tolerance, generation of regulatory T cells, and a loss of many antigen-reactive T cells.
Strom
Terry B
TB
Division of Immunology and Transplant Research Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. tstrom@bidmc.harvard.edu
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell