Evidence for T cell receptor-HLA class II molecule interaction in the response to superantigenic bacterial toxins

The staphylococcal enterotoxins and related microbial T cell mitogens stimulate T cells by cross-linking variable parts of the T cell receptor (TcR) with MHC class II molecules on accessory or target cells. In this report we describe that a given combination of T cell, accessory cell (AC) and toxin can be non-stimulatory. However, the same T cell can respond to the same toxin on another AC and the same AC can present the same toxin to another T cell. This indicates that in the complex formed between TcR, toxin and class II molecule an interaction between TcR and class II molecule takes place.