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T-cell–B-cell cooperation

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 4, pages 308–312 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The discovery that T cells cooperate with B cells in the induction of antibody production marked a milestone in the study of immunology. Together with presentation of antigen by specialized antigen-presenting cells (a discovery made at around the same time), it provided the first and most important example of cooperation between different cell types of the immune system. The discovery of T-cell–B-cell cooperation enhanced our understanding of immunoregulation. In doing so, it laid the foundation for much of contemporary research in basic immunology, as well as present ideas about immunological diseases, ranging from immune deficiency to autoimmunity and allergy.

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Figure 1: The cellular basis of transplantation immunity.
Figure 2: T–B cooperation.
Figure 3: T–B cooperation in the response to allogeneic cells, as adapted from our knowledge in 1992.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to H. Claman, G. Nossal, W. Paul, M. Raff, K. Rajewsky and others for critical advice.

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  1. the Department of Immunology, Windeyer Institute of Medical Science, 46 Cleveland Street, London, W1T 4JF, UK

    N. A. Mitchison

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Mitchison, N. T-cell–B-cell cooperation. Nat Rev Immunol 4, 308–312 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1334

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