There is accumulating evidence indicating the presence in vivo of T-independent routes of IgA response in addition to the conventional T-dependent IgA response. Factors influencing these alternative pathways of IgA responses may include the structural characteristics of a stimulating antigen, the nature of responding B cells, and the microenvironment. The structural complexity of polysaccharide antigens has made it difficult to summarize a general scheme for the antibody responses they induce. Instead, one may expect that each individual polysaccharide may be able to create a unique microenvironment by activation of specific cell populations in the repertoires of non-T cell types. A specific pattern of B cell response may thus be elicited by TI stimulation. Recognition of such a unique property of a TI antigens is necessary for us to better understand the T-independent IgA response. Information obtained may have an impact on the development of vaccination strategies directed at the mucosal immunity mediated by IgA antibodies.
CITATION STYLE
Wang, D. (2001). T-independent IgA responses to microbial polysaccharides. In Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (Vol. 491, pp. 485–504). Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1267-7_32
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