Related Experiment Videos
Mechanisms of tolerance to self
1Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria, Australia. miller@wehi.edu.au
Current Opinion in Immunology
|December 1, 1996
Summary
The immune system uses several mechanisms to prevent self-reactivity in lymphocytes. T and B cells undergo selection processes, with self-reactive cells being deleted or inactivated to maintain self-tolerance.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Lymphocytes, including T cells and B cells, must distinguish self from non-self antigens.
- Failure to control self-reactive lymphocytes can lead to autoimmune diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanisms that prevent lymphocytes from reacting against self-antigens.
- To understand the fate of self-reactive T and B cells during development and in the periphery.
Main Methods:
- The study reviews existing literature on lymphocyte development and self-tolerance.
- It discusses the processes of T cell deletion in the thymus and B cell selection in the bone marrow.
Main Results:
- High-affinity self-reactive T cells are deleted in the thymus.
- Low-affinity self-reactive T cells and B cells undergo peripheral tolerance mechanisms like anergy or deletion, influenced by costimulatory signals and T cell help.
Conclusions:
- Multiple layers of immune tolerance prevent self-reactivity.
- Peripheral tolerance is crucial for managing self-reactive lymphocytes that escape central deletion.