T-Cell Regulation without Clonal Selection by Antigen? Polygamous Suppressor Cells and Monogamous Helper Cells at High Frequencies

Is something other than clonal selection required to account for T-cell regulation? Inga Melchers and Klaus Eichmann show by carefully quantified studies that T-helper cells may be seen to react in a “monogamous” fashion whereas frequency analyses indicate that suppressor cells are at least polygamous if not promiscuous. Do we have a paradox here within the fundamental framework of the clonal selection theory?