Abstract
To provide a T-cell population that will respond promptly to foreign antigen, the immune system looks inward, using the variety of self-antigens to select and maintain a diverse repertoire of receptors. A protective immune system must include a T-lymphocyte population that is poised to respond to foreign antigenic peptides presented by self-major histocompatibility complex molecules. As the organism cannot predict the precise pathogen-derived antigens that will be encountered, the system uses the diverse array of self-peptides bound to self-major histocompatibility complex molecules, not only to select a receptor repertoire in the thymus, but also to keep naïve T cells alive and ‘ready for action’ in the periphery.
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Goldrath, A., Bevan, M. Selecting and maintaining a diverse T-cell repertoire. Nature 402, 255–262 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/46218
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/46218
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