The Journal of Immunology, Vol 150, Issue 7 2753-2760, Copyright © 1993 by American Association of Immunologists

ARTICLES

Differential binding of a minor histocompatibility antigen peptide to H- 2 class I molecules correlates with immune responsiveness

PJ Wettstein, GM van Bleek and SG Nathenson
Department of Surgery, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN 55905.

Minor histocompatibility (H) Ag are recognized in the context of MHC class I (K/D) molecules and can constitute a strong barrier to tissue transplantation. The products encoded by the MHC (H-2 in mice) have been shown recently to be Ag-presenting molecules that bind foreign and self peptides in their peptide binding sites. Different class I molecules preferentially bind different arrays of endogenous peptides for presentation to CTL. Previous studies showed that the Kb-restricted CTL response to one minor histocompatibility Ag, H-4, varied in different Kb mutants. One possible basis for this variation might be that the response is regulated by the level of binding of an H-4 peptide by class I molecules. To analyze this possibility, we initiated studies to identify the H-4 peptide that is included in the array of self peptides. The complete mixture of peptides eluted from Kb molecules of H-4+ tumor cells was able to sensitize H-4- targets for lysis by H-4-specific CTL. The presence of a specific H-4 peptide was confirmed when the radiolabeled peptide mix eluted from Kb molecules was separated by HPLC. Only one peak in the profile of H-4+ tumor peptides was capable of sensitizing H-4- targets for lysis by H-4- specific CTL; this active peak was absent in H-4 mutant cells. Peptide mixtures eluted from a panel of Kb mutant molecules extracted from H-4+ lymphocytes varied in their capacities to sensitize targets for H-4- specific lysis and the relative sensitization correlated with the demonstrated capacity of mutant mice to generate H-4-specific CTL. Therefore, the highly specific genetic control of the T cell response to the H-4 minor histocompatibility Ag appears to be due to the differential binding of an H-4 peptide by class I molecules.

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