The other view on antigen-specific T suppressor cells: hypothesis

A close analysis of clonal anergy and T suppressor systems reveals a considerable overlap between these two phenomena in experimental conditions. While evidence accumulates in favour of anergy in the maintenance of self-tolerance and in experimental manipulations, the concept of antigen-specific T cell suppression coupled with the conventionally attributed features of T suppressor cells remain as an enigma. This has lead to a widespread scepticism and controversies. Hence synthesis of a theory to explain and (better) understand antigen-specific suppression becomes an essential task in basic immunology. In the present article the phenomenon of clonal anergy is subdivided, theoretically, into three states and then analysed in the context of different experimental systems. it is suggested that partially anergic cells, termed as state 3 cells, can be the effectors of antigen-specific suppression.