H-2-restriction and Ia-dependence of the efficient immune recognition of minor histocompatibility antigens in vivo

The alloantigens encoded by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a fundamental role in regulating lymphocyte activities, at both the recognitive and effector phases of the immune response. At the recognitive level, the presence or absence of some MHC antigens strongly modulates the immunogenicity of a second antigen expressed on the same cell membrane (Lake and Mitchison 1977). Such an associative recognition is often a prerequisite for the efficient induction of selected lymphocyte behavior patterns