Abstract
Dental caries affects the majority of people in developed countries but about 3% of them seem to be resistant. An immunological basis for this resistance has been suggested by the findings that relatively caries-free subjects have increased serum antibody titres1 and that their T lymphocytes have a greater potential to proliferate on stimulation with streptococcal antigens2. Helper cells or their factors3 are required for formation of antibody to the streptococcal antigen4. In this study specific helper factor activity was released by 1–10 ng of the purified streptococcal antigen I/II (SAI/II) from lymphocytes of caries-resistant subjects, compared with 1,000 ng of SAI/II required to release similar helper factor activity from lymphocytes of caries-prone subjects. The low-dose helper activity of lymphocytes was associated predominantly with the HLA-DRw6,1,2,3 cross-reactive groups, whereas the high-dose helper activity was associated with the HLA-DR4-related gene product.
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Lehner, T., Lamb, J., Welsh, K. et al. Association between HLA-DR antigens and helper cell activity in the control of dental caries. Nature 292, 770–772 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/292770a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/292770a0
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