Editors' pick: Genetic and environmental determinants of human TCR repertoire diversity
As people age and are increasingly exposed to internal and external immune challenges, the T cell antigen receptor repertoire changes to reflect memory of these challenges and the diversity of the repertoire decreases. The TCR recognizes antigens in association with HLA molecules. The HLA system is the most genetically polymorphic complex known, but its impact on the diversity of the TCR repertoire has remained unclear until now. This paper shows that TCR repertoire diversity is positively associated with polymorphism at HLA-I, but decreases with increasing age and cytomegalovirus infection, which shape the repertoire in healthy individuals. These observations reflect the mechanism responsible for the evolutionary advantage of HLA polymorphism, as long suspected but not documented until now.
.png)
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario