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Surface plasmon resonance studies of the binding kinetics of T-cell antigen receptors (TCRs) to peptide/ major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules reveal that the dissociation rates are fast while the apparent association rates are slow. The binding pattern of the TCR heterodimers is similar to that of the original molecules and the peptide variants that release weak T-cell stimulatory responses display same affinity as, but higher dissociation rate than the original peptides. The binding activities contribute to the downstream signaling events.

Influence of pH on the forces which participate in peptide binding causes alterations in the binding of the II class major histocompatibility complex molecule, IE(K) to peptides. Lys103 of moth cytochrome c influences the binding process of pH at 7.5. An Ala residue substitutes Lys to support binding at pH 5.4. An acidic surrounding is necessary to enable IE(K) to produce an antigenic nonpolar peptide. pH also influences the specificity and the extent of binding degeneration. High-affinity peptide analogues are generated by employing the correct forces needed for peptide binding.

Leishmania infection inhibits the capacity of macrophages (MΦ) to present antigens to CD4 T cells. Relocation of MHC class II and H-2DM to the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) and their subsequent degradation by the parasite may contribute to this defect. Dendritic cells (DC) are critical for initiation of primary T cell responses. DC can process Leishmania antigen and elicit Leishmania-specific T cells, but it is unknown whether exposure to Leishmania impairs this capacity. In particular, it is not clear whether DC containing live parasites efficiently process and present antigens. We investigated the ability of mouse bone marrow-derived DC infected with L. mexicana to generate pigeon cytochrome c (PCC) peptide-MHC class II complexes, using the mAb D4, which recognizes PCC H-2E, and the PCC-specific T cell hybridoma 2B4. We show that H-2DM-dependent complex generation is not compromised by infection and that complexes are fully recognized by specific T cells. We further show that in contrast to infected MΦ, in infected DC cytoplasmic H-2DM is not down-regulated and not relocated to the parasite-containing vacuole. This observation may explain the continued ability of infected DC to present PCC, and also indicates differences in the habitat of these intracellular parasites in DC compared to MΦ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presentation of peptides by class I HLA molecules is essential for the development of a T cell-mediated immune response. TCRs have the ability to discriminate among large numbers of different HLA-peptide complexes. We have identified a mAb, MA2.1, that also discriminates among HLA-A2 associated with different peptides. A soluble form of HLA-A2 bound to single peptides was prepared and its serological reactivity was studied using four mAbs. Three antibodies, W6/32, BB7.2 and BBM.1, recognized all the complexes equally. MA2.1, however, recognized most of the complexes equally but showed markedly different reactivity to two peptides bound to HLA-A2. MA2.1 recognized HLA-A2 complexed with the HIV-1 p17 epitope (SLYNTVATL) at least 30 times more strongly than all other complexes studied and this enhanced reactivity was found to be sensitive to a point mutation of threonine to alanine at position 8 in the peptide. In addition, MA2.1 had a very low reactivity for HLA-A2 complexed with the peptide TLWVDPYEV. Previous studies have mapped the binding epitope of MA2.1 to the α and α helices of HLA-A2, suggesting two possible explanations for the ability of the bound peptide to influence MA2.1 reactivity. Either MA2.1 is sensitive to peptide-induced conformational changes of the helices, or it directly contacts certain peptides in the groove of HLA-A2. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

T cells specific for the cytochrome c Ag are widely used to investigate many aspects of TCR specificity and interactions with peptide-MHC, but structural information has long been elusive. In this study, we present structures for the well-studied 2B4 TCR, as well as a naturally occurring variant of the 5c.c7 TCR, 226, which is cross-reactive with more than half of possible substitutions at all three TCR-sensitive residues on the peptide Ag. These structures alone and in complex with peptide-MHC ligands allow us to reassess many prior mutagenesis results. In addition, the structure of 226 bound to one peptide variant, p5E, shows major changes in the CDR3 contacts compared with wild-type, yet the TCR V-region contacts with MHC are conserved. These and other data illustrate the ability of TCRs to accommodate large variations in CDR3 structure and peptide contacts within the constraints of highly conserved TCR-MHC interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]