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Emil R. Unanue recounts his seminal work 25 years ago demonstrating that antigens are phagocytosed and processed by antigen-presenting cells and that class II major histocompatibility complex molecules are peptide-binding proteins.
The established dogma of 'horror autotoxicus' was overturned 50 years ago with the publication of a paper showing that autoimmune thyroiditis could be induced in animals. Noel Rose recounts the events that led to the establishment of autoimmunity as a cause of disease.
Envisioning how T cells might recognize antigen presented by major histocompatibility complex molecules proved to be a formidable challenge. Pamela Bjorkman describes her journey to provide structural insights into how such recognition is achieved.
Robert L. Coffman recounts how his work on immunoglobulin E regulation along with data from Tim Mosmann on the functional heterogeneity of T cell clones led to the T helper type 1–T helper type 2 hypothesis.
The stimulation of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells by the presentation of antigen acquired from outside the cell was the startling conclusion of Michael Bevan's work done more than 30 years ago.
Historical accounts of important experiments in Immunology provide insight and continuity to present areas of research. Jacques F.A.P. Miller inaugurates the Essay format with his seminal work on the thymus.
