Abstract
Alloreactive T cells recognize polymorphic nonself MHC determinants that are expressed by different members of the same species. They are detected in specifically stimulated cytotoxic/proliferative responses in vitro (allogeneic mixed leukocyte reaction, allo MLR), and in the graft-versus-host (GvH) or host-versus-graft (HvG) reactions of various transplantation systems in vivo. These primary cell-mediated immune responses are easier to induce and are apparently of a different nature than MHC-restricted T-cell-mediated immune responses to conventional antigens or pathogens. This has always intrigued immunologists (and frustrated transplantation activists). Attempts to explain this preponderance of the T-cell reactivity to allogeneic MHC determinants focused either on a particular “antigenic nature” of MHC-encoded glycoproteins, or assumed a large pool of precursor T cells in normal individuals that specifically recognized allogeneic MHC antigens.
Published Version
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