The enemy in you: the interdependency of the localisation and antigenicity of proteins Online publication date: Sat, 28-Feb-2009
by Borros M. Arneth
International Journal of Immunological Studies (IJIS), Vol. 1, No. 1, 2009
Abstract: The subcellular localisation of protein components should be important for their antigenicity. This assumption is derived from the concept of MHC restriction, where CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes can only interact with MHC II and MHC I surface receptors, respectively. If this mechanism applies, however, then intracellular components should have immunogenic effects mediated by MHC II and CD4 T lymphocytes as soon as they enter the extracellular space. Conversely, extracellular components should generate an immune response that is mediated by MHC I and CD8 lymphocytes when they breach the intracellular space and when they exceed a critical concentration. In this study, these hypotheses were investigated using flow cytometry. Human whole blood was incubated separately with intracellular and extracellular proteins, and the resulting activation of the CD69 proportion of T lymphocyte subpopulations (CD4, CD8) were determined. Our results suggest that normal human endogenous proteins can initiate immunological reactions and activate lymphocytes.
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