A 33 year-old female is being followed by her neurologist for her multiple sclerosis. She was initially diagnosed with relapsing remitting subtype after an episode of visual disturbance and an episode of paralysis. In her study of autoimmune diseases she encounters the topic of lymphocyte development and comes across a question which she poses to her neurologist during a routine follow-up visit: During the process of T-lymphocyte maturation, T cell receptors of many lymphocytes demonstrate a very high-affinity interaction with MHC molecules expressed on thymic medullary epithelial and dendritic cells. What process do these lymphocytes undergo at this time?

Question

A 33 year-old female is being followed by her neurologist for her multiple sclerosis.  She was initially diagnosed with relapsing remitting subtype after an episode of visual disturbance and an episode of paralysis.  In her study of autoimmune diseases she encounters the topic of lymphocyte development and comes across a question which she poses to her neurologist during a routine follow-up visit: During the process of T-lymphocyte maturation, T cell receptors of many lymphocytes demonstrate a very high-affinity interaction with MHC molecules expressed on thymic medullary epithelial and dendritic cells.  What process do these lymphocytes undergo at this time?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: The process of negative selection in T cell maturation is essential for eliminating T cells that bind to self MHC or self antigens with overly high affinity.  This process occurs in the thymic medulla.  If these cells were permitted to survive, they would likely induce immune and inflammatory reactions against self antigens leading to autoimmune disease.

A 33 Year-Old Female Is Being Followed by Her Neurologist