Abstract
T cells play an important role in the mammalian immune system, participating in a number of cell-cell interactions. It is through these interactions, and the products that result from these interactions, that T cells aid in the regulation and differentiation of the immune response. T cells can be divided into those that mediate the cellular response (cytotoxic T lymphocytes) and those that regulate the humoral response (helper and suppressor T lymphocytes). Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) lyse abnormal host cells, including neoplastic cells and those infected by virus, while helper T lymphocytes (HTL) enhance the response of B cells and other T cells, and suppressor T cells down-regulate their response. T cells are closely related to B cells, which provide the fine tuning of the immune response by the production of immunoglobulins; antigen-specific molecules involved in a variety of immune reactions that lead to the elimination of antigen and the neutralization of antigen-bearing cells (Davies and Metzger, 1983; Honjo, 1983). Both B and T cells have diverse, clonally distributed repertoires, recognize antigen in a specific manner by means of cell surface receptors, and generate the genes that encode their receptors by the rearrangement of sequences that are noncontiguous in germ-line DNA, using the same enzyme system. However, there are a number of significant differences between the two cell types, including their products, specific functions, and modes of antigen recognition.
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Caccia, N., Takihara, Y., Mak, T.W. (1988). The γ-δ Heterodimer. In: Mak, T.W. (eds) The T-Cell Receptors. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5406-2_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5406-2_11
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