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Related Concept Videos

Antigen Presenting Cells01:22

Antigen Presenting Cells

The immune system is a complex network of cells and molecules that protects the body from foreign invaders. T cells, a type of white blood cell, play a crucial role in this process. They recognize and attack foreign substances, such as pathogens, that enter the body.
T cells require the help of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which process foreign antigens into smaller fragments that can be recognized by T cells. These APCs are highly specialized cells that efficiently internalize antigens...
Antigens Involved in Adaptive Immunity01:26

Antigens Involved in Adaptive Immunity

An antigen is any substance the immune system identifies as foreign and potentially harmful to the body, prompting an immune response. Antigens have two functional properties: immunogenicity and reactivity. Immunogenicity is the ability of an antigen to stimulate a specific immune response. At the same time, reactivity describes the antigen's ability to react with the cells and antibodies produced in response to it.
Complete Antigens
Complete antigens possess both immunogenicity and reactivity.
Antigen Processing Pathways01:31

Antigen Processing Pathways

MHC molecules are key players in the immune response, enabling T cells to recognize and respond to specific antigens. They are present on the surface of all nucleated cells in the body and are instrumental in presenting antigens to T cells and activating them. T cells recognize the MHC-antigen complex and initiate an immune response. MHC class I and MHC class II are two main types of MHC molecules, each associated with a distinct antigen processing pathway.
MHC Class I: Presenting Endogenous...
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection01:22

T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection

T cells are integral to our adaptive immune system, recognizing and effectively responding to foreign antigens. T cell activation and clonal selection are pivotal in orchestrating this immune response. This article elucidates these mechanisms, detailing the roles of cluster of differentiation (CD) markers, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, costimulatory signals, and the process of clonal selection.
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response01:23

Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response

The T and B lymphocytes of the adaptive immune system develop from common lymphoid progenitor cells in the bone marrow. These progenitors give rise to precursors that eventually develop into both T and B lymphocytes. As these precursors mature, they gain the ability to detect and respond to foreign antigens in the body, a process known as immunocompetence. Additionally, these precursors acquire self-tolerance, a process that ensures they do not react to self-antigens. This intricate system...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response01:27

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response

Cytotoxic T cells are a vital component of the immune system. They have the remarkable ability to identify and target antigens on infected or abnormal cells. These antigens often originate from intracellular pathogens such as viruses or abnormal proteins cancer cells produce.
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Isolation, Identification, and Purification of Murine Thymic Epithelial Cells
07:20

Isolation, Identification, and Purification of Murine Thymic Epithelial Cells

Published on: August 8, 2014

How thymic antigen presenting cells sample the body's self-antigens.

Jens Derbinski1, Bruno Kyewski

  • 1Department of Developmental Immunology, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. j.derbinski@dkfz.de

Current Opinion in Immunology
|September 14, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Thymic antigen presentation is complex, involving diverse antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and unique molecular pathways. This cellular and molecular intricacy shapes self-peptide display, crucial for immune tolerance and T cell selection.

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Last Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Isolation, Identification, and Purification of Murine Thymic Epithelial Cells
07:20

Isolation, Identification, and Purification of Murine Thymic Epithelial Cells

Published on: August 8, 2014

Examination of Thymic Positive and Negative Selection by Flow Cytometry
14:29

Examination of Thymic Positive and Negative Selection by Flow Cytometry

Published on: October 8, 2012

Preparation and Applications of Organotypic Thymic Slice Cultures
10:10

Preparation and Applications of Organotypic Thymic Slice Cultures

Published on: August 6, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Intrathymic antigen presentation is key for immune tolerance.
  • Recent discoveries reveal complexity in self-antigen display within the thymus.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms of self-antigen presentation in the thymus.
  • To understand how antigen-presenting cell (APC) heterogeneity influences self-peptide display for immune tolerance.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of transcriptional control, antigen processing, and antigen sampling pathways in thymic APCs.
  • Investigating cell-type specific features of APCs, including promiscuous gene expression, proteasome composition, autophagy, and extracellular sampling.

Main Results:

  • Distinct APC subsets exhibit unique antigen repertoires due to cell-specific features.
  • Transcriptional control, antigen processing, and sampling mechanisms contribute to diverse self-peptide display.
  • Combinatorial attributes in APCs create unique self-peptide displays in the cortex and medulla.

Conclusions:

  • The heterogeneity of thymic APCs and their molecular pathways generate a diverse self-peptide repertoire.
  • This diverse display is critical for both positive selection in the cortex and tolerance induction in the medulla.