Melanoma-specific T cells that develop in the presence of a self/melanoma antigen lack anti-melanoma and autoimmune activity.

<p><b>(a)</b> B16 melanoma cells were subcutaneously injected into Ag+GILT+/+Tg, Ag+GILT-/-Tg and Ag-GILT+/+Tg mice and followed for tumor growth. Data are representative of two independent experiments with five mice per group and compared by ANOVA with the Tukey correction for multiple comparisons (*p<0.05; **p<0.01). <b>(b)</b> CD4+ cells from Ag-GILT+/+Tg and Ag+GILT-/-Tg mice were injected into the tail vein of Ag-expressing RAG1-/- or GILT-/-RAG1-/- recipients, and animals were followed for vitiligo onset. Disease onset curves were compared using the log-rank test. The onset of autoimmunity caused by T cells from Ag-GILT+/+Tg mice was delayed in GILT-deficient hosts compared with RAG1-/- hosts (p<0.01). T cells from Ag+GILT-/-Tg mice failed to induce vitiligo in all recipients. <b>(c)</b> Fifteen weeks after the adoptive transfer in b, skin-draining lymph node cells from recipient animals were gated on lymphocytes and analyzed for TRP1-specific T cells identified by CD4 and Vβ14 expression. Data are shown from three pooled experiments compared by ANOVA with the Tukey correction for multiple comparisons (*p<0.05; **p<0.01).