CDantigener

CDantigener is a hypothetical molecular concept in speculative immunology referring to a proposed class of CD-associated proteins that function as an antigen generator within immune cells. The term combines CD, from cluster of differentiation, with antigene or antigen generator, indicating a role in producing peptide antigens. It is not a term for a verified molecule in current literature; it appears in thought experiments, theoretical discussions, and fictional narratives about immune recognition.

In these models, CDantigener would be a membrane-embedded, multi-subunit complex that links surface receptor signaling to intracellular proteolysis. Upon activation, it would reconfigure its proteolytic components to generate peptide fragments from cytosolic or endosomal substrates, which could then be loaded onto MHC class I or II molecules, shaping the antigen repertoire presented to T cells. The concept allows exploration of dynamic antigen generation in response to infection, stress, or transformation.

Potential implications include influences on autoimmunity, tumor surveillance, and immune tolerance, depending on how selectively the generated peptides reflect self versus non-self. Because CDantigener is not established in empirical research, it remains a theoretical construct used to discuss coupling of receptor signaling to antigen production.

See also CD molecules; antigen processing and presentation; MHC; neoantigen; autoimmunity; immune tolerance.