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Related Concept Videos

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.
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...
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...
Cell-mediated Immune Responses01:40

Cell-mediated Immune Responses

Overview
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...
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: May 17, 2026

Peptide:MHC Tetramer-based Enrichment of Epitope-specific T cells
13:58

Peptide:MHC Tetramer-based Enrichment of Epitope-specific T cells

Published on: October 22, 2012

T cells and their eons-old obsession with MHC.

Lei Yin1, James Scott-Browne, John W Kappler

  • 1Integrated Department of Immunology, HHMI, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA.

Immunological Reviews
|October 11, 2012
PubMed
Summary

T cell receptors (TCRs) have evolved specific amino acids that enable them to bind major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins. This evolutionary adaptation, observed across species, suggests a pre-existing bias in TCRs for MHC interaction.

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Identification of Rare Antigen-Specific T Cells from Mouse Lungs with Peptide:Major Histocompatibility Complex Tetramers

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Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • T cells use T cell receptors (TCRs) to recognize peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins.
  • Positive selection in the thymus is thought to shape TCR specificity, but an evolutionary bias in TCRs towards MHC recognition is also possible.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether T cell receptors (TCRs) possess an inherent evolutionary bias for interacting with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins.
  • To identify specific molecular features within TCRs that mediate MHC binding.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of amino acid sequences in TCR variable elements, particularly focusing on the CDR2 regions.
  • Comparative studies across different species, including mice, sharks, and humans, to identify conserved binding motifs.
  • Experimental mutation of key amino acids to assess their impact on TCR-MHC interactions.

Main Results:

  • Specific amino acids in the CDR2 regions of certain TCR variable elements (e.g., mouse Vβ8 family) consistently interact with a specific site on the MHC α-helix.
  • Mutations in these identified amino acids significantly reduce the ability of T cells and thymocytes to react with MHC.
  • Conserved binding-related amino acids are found in TCRs across distantly related species, indicating evolutionary selection.

Conclusions:

  • TCR variable elements have been shaped by evolution to preferentially interact with MHC proteins.
  • This inherent bias likely influences the process of positive selection during T cell development.
  • Further research is needed to understand TCR auto-recognition, MHC allele specificity, and the complexity of mature T cell TCRs.