＜正＞ T cell homeostasis commonly refers to the maintenance of relatively stable T cell numbers in the peripherallymphoid organs.Among the large numbers of T cells in the periphery,T cells exhibit structural diversity,i.e.,theexpression of a diverse repertoire of T cell receptors（TCRs）,and functional diversity,i.e.,the presence of T cells atnave,effector,and memory developmental stages.Although the homeostasis of T cell numbers has been extensivelystudied,investigation of the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of structural and functional diversity of Tceils is still at an early stage.The fundamental feature throughout T cell development is the interaction between theTCR and either self or foreign peptides in association with MHC molecules.In this review,we present evidenceshowing that homeostasis of T cell number and diversity is mediated through competition for limiting resources.The number of T cells is maintained through competition for limiting cytokines,whereas the diversity of T cells ismaintained by competition for self-peptide-MHC complexes.In other words,diversity of the self-peptide repertoirelimits the structural（TCR）diversity of a T cell population.We speculate that cognate low affinity self-peptides,acting as weak agonists and antagonists,regulate the homeostasis of T cell diversity whereas non-cognate or nullpeptides which are extremely abundant for any given TCR,may contribute to the homeostasis of T cell number byproviding survival signals.Moreover,self-peptides and cytokines may form specialized niches for the regulation ofT cell homeostasis.Cellular ＆ Molecular Immunology.2005;2（1）:1-10.
展开▼
