Anergy and suppression as coexistent mechanisms for the maintenance of peripheral T cell tolerance.

Using T cell receptor (TCR) V(beta)8.1 transgenic mice, we have developed an in vivo system for the study of peripheral T cell tolerance, in which two distinct mechanisms of peripheral tolerance are observed to act simultaneously during the maintenance phase of the nonresponsive state. These two mechanisms, anergy and suppression, have been studied using the CD4+ T cell lineage markers 6C10 and CD25, which can be employed to purify the cells involved in each form of tolerance. Findings and perspectives gained through the study of peripheral tolerance in our model, as well as relevant observations from the literature, will be reviewed.