Major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) proteins are responsible for the presentation of intracellular protein fragments on the cellular surface and are thus the primary method for the broader immune system to recognize and respond to intracellular deformity or infection. A successful immune response against intracellular pathogens relies upon effective epitope presentation by MHC-I and recognition of this epitope by cytotoxic cluster of differentiation 8 positive (CD8+) T cells. Although MHC-I mediated immunity is a powerful mechanism which might resist infection by pathogens, many such pathogens have evolved methods of eluding or suppressing MHC-I mediated immune responses and are thereby able to persist within our cells. Close study of the fine details of the functionality of the MHC-I mediated antigen presentation system may yield important clues about how to best move forward in the quest to eliminate these problematic diseases. Although diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and cancer may differ in many fundamental ways, it has become clear that the future of treating these elusive pathogens must involve utilization of the tools provided in the human immune system.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/41276 |
| Date | 09 July 2020 |
| Creators | Khalsa, Harimander |
| Contributors | Spencer, Jean L., Offner, Gwynneth D. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ |
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