MHC restriction


MHC-restricted antigen recognition, or MHC restriction, refers to the fact that a given T cell can interact with both the self-major histocompatibility complex molecule and the foreign peptide that is bound to it, but will recognize and respond to the antigen, only when it is bound to a host body's own MHC molecule. When foreign proteins enter a cell, they are broken into smaller pieces called peptides. These foreign peptides are brought to the surface of the cell and presented to T cells by proteins called the major histocompatibility complex (MHC).