Abstract
Helper T cell-regulated B cell responses constitute a major component of the primary immune response to many pathogens. The subsequent development of antigen-specific immune memory is one critical outcome of this primary adaptive immune response. Antigenspecific immunity develops through a series of intercellular information exchanges organized around cognate T cell receptorpeptide/MHC interactions. Here, we discuss these complex molecular events and their cellular consequences in a serial synapsis model of adaptive immunity. Our laboratory has developed strategies to isolate antigen-specific Th cells and B cells to analyze gene expression and cellular function in single responding lymphocytes directly ex vivo. These studies provide in sight into the regulation and cellular organization of antigen-specific immune responses in vivo.
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McHeyzer-Williams, M.G., McHeyzer-Williams, L.J., Fanelli Panus, J. et al. Antigen-specific immunity. Immunol Res 22, 223–236 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1385/IR:22:2-3:223
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/IR:22:2-3:223