Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

T cell receptor specificity and mimotopes.

K Sparbier¹, P Walden

¹Department of Dermatology, Medical Faculty Charité, Humboldt University, D-10089, Berlin, Germany.

Current Opinion in Immunology

|May 14, 1999

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Nanoparticle-Based Mucosal Vaccines Targeting Tumor-Associated Antigens to Human Dendritic Cells.

Journal of biomedical nanotechnology·2018

Same author

Rapid detection of antibiotic resistance by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry using a novel direct-on-target microdroplet growth assay.

Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases·2017

Same author

11Li Breakup on 208 at energies around the Coulomb barrier.

Physical review letters·2014

Same author

Apparatus to characterize gas sensor response under real-world conditions in the lab.

The Review of scientific instruments·2014

Same author

Rapid detection of antibiotic resistance based on mass spectrometry and stable isotopes.

European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology·2013

Same author

Do halo nuclei follow Rutherford elastic scattering at energies below the barrier? The case of 11Li.

Physical review letters·2013

Same journal

Noncanonical ion channel signaling in neurovascular barrier regulation and immune cell trafficking.

Current opinion in immunology·2026

Same journal

A blind spot of human T cell immunology: epitope specificity in secondary lymphoid organs.

Current opinion in immunology·2026

Same journal

Germinal center responses at barrier organ sites.

Current opinion in immunology·2026

Same journal

Ocular sarcoidosis: from clinical signs to targeted interventions.

Current opinion in immunology·2026

Same journal

On or within: spatial determinants of antigen handling in the nasal turbinates.

Current opinion in immunology·2026

Same journal

Decoding the complexity of intestinal immunity with spatial transcriptomics.

Current opinion in immunology·2026

See all related articles

T cell functions are guided by degeneracy, not unique ligand specificity. This finding, from in vivo and in vitro studies, offers new insights into T cell biology and immunology applications.

Area of Science:

Immunology
Molecular Biology
Cell Biology

Background:

Traditional views emphasize unique ligand specificity in T cell receptor recognition.
Emerging evidence suggests a more complex interaction landscape.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of degeneracy versus unique specificity in guiding T cell functions.
To explore the implications of these findings for T cell biology and immunology.

Main Methods:

Analysis of T cell development and responses in vivo.
Studies utilizing synthetic molecular libraries in vitro.

Main Results:

Degeneracy, the ability of a single receptor to bind multiple ligands, appears to be a key driver of T cell functions.

Related Experiment Videos

This contrasts with the notion that highly specific ligand binding dictates T cell activity.

Conclusions:

The concept of degeneracy offers a new framework for understanding T cell behavior.
This paradigm shift has significant implications for both fundamental T cell biology and the development of applied immunology strategies.