Is transplantation tolerable?
Terry B. Strom
Terry B. Strom
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Commentary

Is transplantation tolerable?

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that chronic stimulation of T cells with a weak agonistic antigen will generate regulatory T cells and immune tolerance, a study reported in this issue employed the redesign of a minor histocompatibility antigen. Using knowledge of residues at which the antigen contacts the T cell receptor, a weak agonist was produced. Pretreatment with this altered antigen produced transplant tolerance, generation of regulatory T cells, and a loss of many antigen-reactive T cells.

Authors

Terry B. Strom

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Figure 1

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As compared with antigenic stimulation (A), stimulation of female transg...
As compared with antigenic stimulation (A), stimulation of female transgenic mice with an APL of the Dby minor histocompatibility (mH) antigen, which delivers incomplete signals to naive T cells, (a) promotes the production of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, (b) limits the development of effector T cells, and (c) magnifies the apoptotic loss of activated T cells (B), resulting in tolerance to male skin grafts. Ag, antigen.