Terra Incognita: Function and Evolution of the H-2 Complex

Abstract

For years, the H-2 complex has been viewed as merely a source of potent antigenic stimulation leading either to secretion of humoral antibodies by plasma cells or to various forms of lymphocyte-mediated (cellular) immunity. More recently, another dimension has been added to the H-2 studies by the speculation that the H-2 complex may also code for molecules that specifically recognize antigens and serve as their receptor. According to this view, the H-2 complex has two principal functions: one is to stimulate immunity and the other is to generate immunological specificity. Of these two functions, the stimulating function is clearly established, whereas the receptor function is so far purely hypothetical.