Antigen processing differences among APC

The hierarchy of display of determinants on a protein antigen is of critical importance with respect to which T cells will be selected during thymic development, as well as in the induction of mature responses. Activation of T cells will be dependent on unfolding, reduction and chain cleavage of the antigen, and the vagaries of competition with other determinants as well as hindrance in access to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or subsequently of the MHC/peptide complex to the T cell receptor. We here focus on a description of the parameters that determine the generation and display of determinants on MHC class II molecules by different types of antigen presenting cells in different locations.