Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Cells, Microbes & Viruses => Topic started by: cheryl j on 19/12/2011 21:23:21

Title: How is immune tolerance achieved?
Post by: cheryl j on 19/12/2011 21:23:21

I believe that before birth and early in childhood the thymus is important in the maturation of T- lymphocytes, and their capacitiy to distingusih between self and non self, but I forget how it works. Are T cells that respond to self-antigens some how eliminated?Or do they never respond to self antigens?

Title: Re: immune tolerance
Post by: Nizzle on 20/12/2011 07:54:07

T-cells that respond to self-antigens are indeed also formed and consequently eliminated, but that's about everything I remembered from my education. It had something to do with the "Major histocompatibility complex" but the exact mechanism should be out there on the interweb somewhere..