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  • T Cell Allorecognition via ...
    Macdonald, Whitney A.; Chen, Zhenjun; Gras, Stephanie; Archbold, Julia K.; Tynan, Fleur E.; Clements, Craig S.; Bharadwaj, Mandvi; Kjer-Nielsen, Lars; Saunders, Philippa M.; Wilce, Matthew C.J.; Crawford, Fran; Stadinsky, Brian; Jackson, David; Brooks, Andrew G.; Purcell, Anthony W.; Kappler, John W.; Burrows, Scott R.; Rossjohn, Jamie; McCluskey, James

    Immunity, 12/2009, Volume: 31, Issue: 6
    Journal Article

    T cells often alloreact with foreign human leukocyte antigens (HLA). Here we showed the LC13 T cell receptor (TCR), selected for recognition on self-HLA-B ∗0801 bound to a viral peptide, alloreacts with B44 allotypes (HLA-B ∗4402 and HLA-B ∗4405) bound to two different allopeptides. Despite extensive polymorphism between HLA-B ∗0801, HLA-B ∗4402, and HLA-B ∗4405 and the disparate sequences of the viral and allopeptides, the LC13 TCR engaged these peptide-HLA (pHLA) complexes identically, accommodating mimicry of the viral peptide by the allopeptide. The viral and allopeptides adopted similar conformations only after TCR ligation, revealing an induced-fit mechanism of molecular mimicry. The LC13 T cells did not alloreact against HLA-B ∗4403, and the single residue polymorphism between HLA-B ∗4402 and HLA-B ∗4403 affected the plasticity of the allopeptide, revealing that molecular mimicry was associated with TCR specificity. Accordingly, molecular mimicry that is HLA and peptide dependent is a mechanism for human T cell alloreactivity between disparate cognate and allogeneic pHLA complexes.