Promiscuous binding of extracellular peptides to cell surface class I MHC protein.

Algorithms derived from measurements of short-peptide (8-10 mers) binding to class I MHC proteins suggest that the binding groove of a class I MHC protein, such as K(b), can bind well over 1 million different peptides with significant affinity (<500 nM), a level of ligand-binding promiscuity approaching the level of heat shock protein binding of unfolded proteins. MHC proteins can, nevertheless, discriminate between similar peptides and bind many of them with high (nanomolar) affinity. Some insights into this high-promiscuity/high-affinity behavior and its impact on immunodominant peptides in T-cell responses to some infections and vaccination are suggested by results obtained here from testing a model developed to predict the number of cell surface peptide-MHC complexes that form on cells exposed to extracellular (exogenous) peptides.

A peptide that antagonizes TCR-mediated reactions with both syngeneic and allogeneic agonists: functional and structural aspects.

We identify and consider some characteristics of a peptide antagonist for the Ag-specific receptor on 2C cells (the 2C TCR). The peptide, GNYSFYAL (called GNY), binds to H-2K(b), and a very high-resolution crystal structure of the GNY-K(b) complex at 1.35 A is described.