Genetically engineered CD80-pMHC-harboring extracellular vesicles for antigen-specific CD4 T-cell engagement.

The identification of low-frequency antigen-specific CD4 T cells is crucial for effective immunomonitoring across various diseases. However, this task still encounters experimental challenges necessitating the implementation of enrichment procedures. While existing antigen-specific expansion technologies predominantly concentrate on the enrichment of CD8 T cells, advancements in methods targeting CD4 T cells have been limited.

MHC Class II Presentation in Autoimmunity.

Antigen presentation by major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) molecules is crucial for eliciting an efficient immune response by CD4 T cells and maintaining self-antigen tolerance. Some MHC-II alleles are known to be positively or negatively associated with the risk of the development of different autoimmune diseases (ADs), including those characterized by the emergence of autoreactive T cells. Apparently, the MHC-II presentation of self-antigens contributes to the autoimmune T cell response, initiated through a breakdown of central tolerance to self-antigens in the thymus.

Alterations in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta peptides presentation by HLA molecules.

The T-cell immune response is a major determinant of effective SARS-CoV-2 clearance. Here, using the recently developed T-CoV bioinformatics pipeline (https://t-cov.hse.

Exhaustive Search of the Receptor Ligands by the CyCLOPS (Cytometry Cell-Labeling Operable Phage Screening) Technique.

Effective and versatile screening of the peptide ligands capable of selectively binding to diverse receptors is in high demand for the state-of-the-art technologies in life sciences, including probing of specificity of the cell surface receptors and drug development. Complex microenvironment and structure of the surface receptors significantly reduce the possibility to determine their specificity, especially when in vitro conditions are utilized. Previously, we designed a publicly available platform for the ultra-high-throughput screening (uHTS) of the specificity of surface-exposed receptors of the living eukaryotic cells, which was done by consolidating the phage display and flow cytometry techniques.

Protective Allele for Multiple Sclerosis HLA-DRB1*01:01 Provides Kinetic Discrimination of Myelin and Exogenous Antigenic Peptides.

Risk of the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) is known to be increased in individuals bearing distinct class II human leukocyte antigen (HLA) variants, whereas some of them may have a protective effect. Here we analyzed distribution of a highly polymorphous HLA- locus in more than one thousand relapsing-remitting MS patients and healthy individuals of Russian ethnicity. Carriage of HLA*15 and HLA*03 alleles was associated with MS risk, whereas carriage of HLA*01 and HLA*11 was found to be protective.

Role of κ→λ light-chain constant-domain switch in the structure and functionality of A17 reactibody.

The engineering of catalytic function in antibodies requires precise information on their structure. Here, results are presented that show how the antibody domain structure affects its functionality. The previously designed organophosphate-metabolizing reactibody A17 has been re-engineered by replacing its constant κ light chain by the λ chain (A17λ), and the X-ray structure of A17λ has been determined at 1.

Liposome-encapsulated peptides protect against experimental allergic encephalitis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severe inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease with an autoimmune background. Despite the variety of therapeutics available against MS, the development of novel approaches to its treatment is of high importance in modern pharmaceutics. In this study, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Dark Agouti rats has been treated with immunodominant peptides of the myelin basic protein (MBP) encapsulated in mannosylated small unilamellar vesicles.

Bacterial ubiquitin-like modifier Pup is deamidated and conjugated to substrates by distinct but homologous enzymes.

In analogy to ubiquitin in eukaryotes, the bacterial protein Pup is attached to lysine residues of substrate proteins, thereby targeting them for proteasomal degradation. It has been proposed that, before its attachment, Pup is modified by deamidation of its C-terminal glutamine to glutamate. Here we have identified Dop (locus tag Rv2112) as the specific deamidase of Pup in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.