The TCR Takes Some Immune Responsibility

In this issue of Immunity, Van Braeckel-Budimmir et al. (2017) reveal that the pathogenic response of mice to a Plasmodium berghei infection is dominated by a Vβ8.1 T cell response. Mice lacking Vβ8.1 T cells fail to mount a pathogenic response, thus showing that the TCR locus can be an Immune response (Ir) gene.