Abstract
Bringing You Negative Selection, Live and in Color
Highlights
T cell activity is driven by a specialized surface receptor called the T cell receptor (TCR), which responds to antigens derived from protein fragments
TCR genes are encoded within a number of gene cassettes that can be rearranged in different combinations to generate TCRs of different antigen specificities
These rearrangements take place as new T cells develop within the thymus, and once a T cell arranges a TCR that successfully recognizes an antigen, TCR gene rearrangement stops and the cell expresses only that TCR
Summary
T cell activity is driven by a specialized surface receptor called the T cell receptor (TCR), which responds to antigens derived from protein fragments. To prevent autoimmunity, developing T cells undergo a process called negative selection, wherein strongly ‘‘selfreactive’’ T cells are provoked to undergo apoptosis (cellular suicide) before they leave the thymus. The antigens that cause negative selection aren’t just floating freely within the thymus; instead, they’re presented to T cells by other thymic-resident cells, including dendritic cells, phagocytic cells, and thymic epithelial cells.
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