HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Correia-Neves, M. Articles by Mathis, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Correia-Neves, M. Articles by Mathis, D.

Amino Acids Specifying MHC Class Preference in TCR V2 Regions¹

Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Illkirch, Strasbourg, France

Some TCR variable regions are preferentially expressed in CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells, reflecting a predilection for interacting with MHC class II or class I molecules. The molecular basis for MHC class bias has been studied previously, in particular for V3 family members, pointing to a dominant role for two amino acid positions in complementary-determining regions (CDRs) 1 and 2. We have evaluated the generality of these findings by examining the MHC class bias of V2 family members, an attractive system because it shows more variability within the CDR1 and -2, exhibits variation in the framework regions, and includes a member for which the crystal structure has been determined. We find that preferential recognition of MHC class I or II molecules does not always depend on residues at the same positions of CDR1 and -2; rules for one family may be reversed in another. Instead, there are multiple influences exerted by various CDR1/2 positions as well as the CDR3s of both the TCR - and TCR -chains.

¹ This work was supported by institute funds from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Hôpital Universitaire de Strasbourg, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and a grant (to C.B. and D.M.) from the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer. M.C.-N. was funded by the Portuguese Gulbenkian Ph.D. Program in Biology and Medicine and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia in Portugal.

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Christophe Benoist or Dr. Diane Mathis, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, BP 163, 67404 Illkirch Cedex, France. E-mail address: cbdm{at}igbmc.u-strasbg.fr

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: CDR, complementary-determining region; B6, C57BL/6; FR, framework region; LN, lymph node; tg, transgenic.