Molecular insights into γδ T cell costimulation by an anti-JAML antibody.

γδ T cells bridge innate and adaptive immunity and function in immunosurveillance, immunoregulation, tumor cell recognition, and as first line of defense against microbial infection. Costimulation of epithelial γδ T cell activation by the JAML receptor can be induced by interaction with its endogenous ligand CAR or by binding of the stimulatory antibody HL4E10. We, therefore, determined the crystal structure of the JAML-HL4E10 Fab complex at 2.

The diabetogenic mouse MHC class II molecule I-Ag7 is endowed with a switch that modulates TCR affinity.

Genetic susceptibility to autoimmunity is frequently associated with specific MHC alleles. Diabetogenic MHC class II molecules, such as human HLA-DQ8 and mouse I-Ag7, typically have a small, uncharged amino acid residue at position 57 of their beta chain (beta57); this results in the absence of a salt bridge between beta57 and Argalpha76, which is adjacent to the P9 pocket of the peptide-binding groove. However, the influence of Argalpha76 on the selection of the TCR repertoire remains unknown, particularly when the MHC molecule binds a peptide with a neutral amino acid residue at position P9.

New design of MHC class II tetramers to accommodate fundamental principles of antigen presentation.

Direct identification and isolation of Ag-specific T cells became possible with the development of MHC tetramers, based on fluorescent avidins displaying biotinylated peptide-MHC complexes. This approach, extensively used for MHC class I-restricted T cells, has met very limited success with class II peptide-MHC complex tetramers (pMHCT-2) for the detection of CD4(+)-specific T cells. In addition, a very large number of these reagents, although capable of specifically activating T cells after being coated on solid support, is still unable to stain.

Soluble CD36 ectodomain binds negatively charged diacylglycerol ligands and acts as a co-receptor for TLR2.

Background: Cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) is a transmembrane glycoprotein involved in many biological processes, such as platelet biology, angiogenesis and in the aetiopathology of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are one of the most important receptors of the innate immune system. Their main function is the recognition of conserved structure of microorganisms.

Effects of mutation at the D-JH junction on affinity, specificity, and idiotypy of anti-progesterone antibody DB3.

The crystal structures of the Fab' fragment of the anti-progesterone monoclonal antibody DB3 and its complexes with steroid haptens have shown that the D-JH junctional residue TrpH100 is a key contributor to binding site interactions with ligands. The indole group of TrpH100 also undergoes a significant conformational change between the bound and unliganded states, effectively opening and closing the combining site pocket. In order to explore the effect of substitutions at this position on steroid recognition, we have carried out mutagenesis on a construct encoding a three-domain single-chain fragment (VH/K) of DB3 expressed in Escherichia coli.

Structure of the uncleaved human H1 hemagglutinin from the extinct 1918 influenza virus.

The 1918 "Spanish" influenza pandemic represents the largest recorded outbreak of any infectious disease. The crystal structure of the uncleaved precursor of the major surface antigen of the extinct 1918 virus was determined at 3.0 angstrom resolution after reassembly of the hemagglutinin gene from viral RNA fragments preserved in 1918 formalin-fixed lung tissues.

Crystal structure of MHC class II I-Ab in complex with a human CLIP peptide: prediction of an I-Ab peptide-binding motif.

Association between the class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and the class II invariant chain-associated peptide (CLIP) occurs naturally as an intermediate step in the MHC class II processing pathway. Here, we report the crystal structure of the murine class II MHC molecule I-A(b) in complex with human CLIP at 2.15A resolution.

Crystal structure of a non-canonical high affinity peptide complexed with MHC class I: a novel use of alternative anchors.

The crystal structure of a non-standard peptide, YEA9, in complex with H-2Kb, at 1.5 A resolution demonstrates how YEA9 peptide can bind with surprisingly high affinity through insertion of alternative, long, non-canonical anchors into the B and E pockets. The use of "alternative pockets" represents a new mode of high affinity peptide binding, that should be considered when predicting peptide epitopes for MHC class I.

Crystal structure of a non-canonical low-affinity peptide complexed with MHC class I: a new approach for vaccine design.

Peptides bind with high affinity to MHC class I molecules by anchoring certain side-chains (anchors) into specificity pockets in the MHC peptide-binding groove. Peptides that do not contain these canonical anchor residues normally have low affinity, resulting in impaired pMHC stability and loss of immunogenicity. Here, we report the crystal structure at 1.