Regulation of Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses by T-cell Subclasses

Abstract

It has become increasingly clear that both the type and intensity of the immune response to antigen are controlled by a complex series of interactions among different types of T lymphocytes and macrophages. This conclusion comes from several lines of experiments. First, studies of the cellular basis of the immune response have indicated that T cells are capable of both helper-initiator, suppressive, and cytolytic effects, and that these activities are specialized functions of distinct subclasses of T cells (Shiku et al. 1975; Cantor and Boyse 1975a,b; Cantor et al. 1976; Jandinski et al. 1976; Huber et al. 1976). Studies of the genetic control of the immune response have also indicated that the intensity of both antibody- and cell-mediated immune reactivity to many antigens is under strict H-linked (Ir) genetic control (McDevitt and Benacerraf 1969; Benacerraf and McDevitt 1972), reflecting either preferential induction of suppressive T lymphocytes (Kapp et al. 1974;...