title: Reconciling views on T cell receptor germline bias for MHC.
abstract: Whether MHC restriction by the T cell receptor (TCR) is a product of evolutionary pressures leading to germline-encoded 'rules of engagement' remains avidly debated. Structural results derived from analysis of TCR-peptide-MHC complexes appear to support a model of physical specificity between TCR germline V regions and MHC. Yet, some recent evidence suggests that thymic selection, and co-receptors may have misled us into thinking the TCR is exclusively MHC-specific, when in fact, TCRs can robustly engage non-MHC ligands when given the chance. Here, I propose that seemingly contradictory data and hypotheses for, and against, germline bias are, in fact, compatible and can be reconciled into a unifying model.
authors: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. kcgarcia@stanford.edu
authors: K Christopher
authors: KC
authors: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D018448:Models, Immunological; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell