The Role of Suppression in Immunoregulation

Abstract

The classical notion of tolerance as a deletion of antigen reactive clones has recently come under a two-pronged attack. It has been suggested that at least some forms of tolerance (if there is more than one form) are due to active suppression of potentially reactive clones by antigen antibody complexes and/or suppressor T cells. At this moment the latter mechanism of suppression seems to be in ascendency in immunological thought. This is mirrored in the papers being presented at this conference, as well as in its organizational hierarchy; a suppressor T cell maven is the chairman of the session on suppression while the originator of the antigen antibody complex notion has been relegated to co-chairman status. However, front runners have been known to fade and if one thing is clear about the subject, it is that the final answer is not yet in. Hopefully, at the conclusion of the conference we will be closer to it than we are at the moment of this writing.