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*
Molecular Biology Section, Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and
Metabolism Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| Abstract |
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TCRs, which use an Ab-like structure to form a combining
site, recognize molecular complexes consisting of peptides bound to MHC
class I (MHC-I) or class II (MHC-II) molecules. To explore the
similarities and differences between Ab and T cell recognition of
similar structures, we have isolated two mAbs, KP14 and KP15, that
specifically bind H-2Dd complexed with an HIV envelope
gp160-derived peptide, P18-I10. These Abs are MHC and peptide specific.
Fine specificity of mAb binding was analyzed using a panel of synthetic
peptides, revealing similarities between the mAb and a cloned TCR with
the same specificity. These two mAbs used the same VH and
JH gene segments, but different D, V
, and J
genes.
Administered in vivo, mAb KP15 blocked the induction of CTL specific
for recombinant vaccinia virus-encoded gp160, indicating its ability to
bind endogenously generated MHC/peptide complexes. Analysis of the fine
specificity of these mAbs in the context of their encoded amino acid
sequences and the known three-dimensional structure of the
H-2Dd/P18-I10 complex suggests that they bind in an
orientation similar to that of the TCR. Thus, the plasticity of the B
cell receptor repertoire and the structural similarities among BCR and
TCR allow Abs to effectively mimic 
TCRs. Such mAbs may be useful
in the therapeutic modulation of immune responses against infectious
agents or harmful self Ags as well as in tracing steps in Ag
processing. | Introduction |
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receptor of the T cell recognizes such peptide
Ags bound to an MHC-I or MHC-II molecule in a binding event dependent
upon exposed amino acid residues of the peptide/MHC complex as well as
those of the complementarity-determining regions (CDR) of the TCR.
These CDR, originally defined by amino acid sequence similarity with
Abs (8, 9), have recently been visualized in the x-ray
crystallographic structures of TCR and peptide/MHC/TCR complexes
(10, 11, 12, 13, 14). In contrast to TCR that are obligate cell
surface receptors, and function in a multivalent array, mature Ab IgG
molecules usually exert their biological function by binding as soluble
bivalent molecules. A major difference in Ag recognition by Abs as
compared with TCR is that the former commonly function through high
affinity interactions, whereas the strength of the TCR interaction with
peptide/MHC is weaker. These differences between Abs and TCR are in
part dictated by the role of the TCR in sensing the presence of
peptide/MHC complexes on the APC, and in coordinating signals required
for the activation or tolerization of the T cell. In addition, the T
cell integrates 
TCR-mediated signals at several stages in its
life cycle, during T cell selection in the thymus, during tolerance
induction in peripheral lymphoid tissues, and during the activation to
various effector functions such as lymphokine release or cytolysis
(15, 16). T cells that escape the selective environment of
the thymus and preserve reactivity to self-peptide/MHC complexes in
peripheral tissues may be chronically activated, leading to
autoimmunity (17, 18). A complete understanding of the cellular and molecular process known as Ag presentation demands the ability to understand in detail the formation of the peptide/MHC complex and the nature of its binding to TCR. Two potent classes of reagents have been developed for visualizing specific peptide/MHC complexes. Specific TCR, engineered from cloned T cells of known peptide/MHC specificity, have been used to visualize cell surface peptide/MHC complexes (19, 20), and MHC-restricted, peptide-specific mAb, identified by various immunization and screening schemes, have been isolated and used similarly (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28). Because we have already reported the detailed characterization of the interaction of a cloned, recombinant TCR for the peptide/MHC complex consisting of the HIV envelope peptide P18-I10 bound to H-2Dd, we set out to identify mAbs with the same specificity. Here, we report the results of a novel strategy to identify peptide-specific MHC-restricted mAbs. These mAbs were produced by immunization of transgenic mice with soluble peptide/MHC complexes. The recipient mice were transgenic for, and partially tolerant to, the soluble MHC molecule complexed to its endogenous repertoire of peptides. Thus the resulting Abs were focused on differences between self-peptide/H-2Dd structures and the P18-I10/H-2Dd structure, and would be expected to recognize a conformation similar to that seen by the TCR. The detailed analysis reported here confirms this view. To explore the ability of these mAbs to bind peptide/MHC complexes generated via the endogenous MHC-I Ag presentation pathway during viral infection, we have studied the in vivo effect of one of them in the blocking of CTL priming. These results suggest both a general strategy for eliciting peptide-specific MHC-restricted mAbs as well as a potential therapeutic use of such reagents.
| Materials and Methods |
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The following cell lines were used: LKD8 (an H-2Dd transfectant of a TAP-defective mouse embryonic cell; Refs. 29, 30); P815 (a DBA/2 mouse mastocytoma); DAP3 (a thymidine kinase-negative L cell, H-2k, Ref. 31); SKT4.5 (DAP3 cells transfected with H-2Dd; Ref. 32); B4.2.3 (a T cell hybridoma with specificity for peptide P18-I10 bound to H-2Dd; Ref. 32); T2 (a human cell line deficient in TAP1 and TAP2 transporter proteins that expresses low levels of HLA-A2.1 at the cell surface; Refs. 33, 34); EL4 (a murine lymphoma of C57BL origin; Ref. 35); EL4-Dd (EL4 cells transfected with H-2Dd); Jurkat (a human T cell leukemia line; Ref. 36); Jurkat-Dd (Jurkat cells transfected with H-2Dd); and Sp2/0 (a mouse plasmacytoma fusion partner cell line; Ref. 37). EL4-Dd and Jurkat-Dd were the gifts of Drs. S. Hansel and A. Rosenberg, Food and Drug Administration (Bethesda, MD). All cells were maintained in DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS, nonessential amino acids, and glutamine.
Antibodies
The following mAbs were used: 34-5-8S, which recognizes a
peptide-dependent conformational epitope on H-2Dd
1
2 domains (38, 39) and W6/32 (40),
which binds a conformational epitope on HLA class I molecules.
H-2Dd-restricted viral and self peptides
The following peptides were synthesized by 9-fluoroenylmethoxylcarbonyl chemistry and purified to >95% purity by HPLC at the Laboratory of Molecular and Structural Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: P18-I10, RGPGRAFVTI (the HIV IIIB gp160 envelope glycoprotein-derived H-2Dd-restricted peptide; Refs. 32, 41); P18-I10 peptides substituted at different positions (as noted in the figures); H-2Dd motif peptide (42): AGPARAAAL; pD38B: AGPDRTEKAL; pD46A: SGPVALVNFI; pD47: IGPNRAFNF; pNA: CPIRGWAI (residues 7794 of the influenza virus neuraminidase); and pNP: QPQNGQFIHFY (residues 397407 of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus nucleoprotein).
Proteins
scTCR, an engineered, bacterially expressed, single chain TCR,
V
2.6V
7C
, with specificity for P18-I10 bound to
H-2Dd, has been described in detail previously
(19), and the crystal structure of its V
domain at 2.5
Å resolution has been reported (43). This protein was
expressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli strain
BL21(DE3) containing the encoding plasmid, solubilized, refolded in
vitro, and purified by ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography.
Soluble H-2Dd (sH-2Dd) was
produced by a transfected L cell line and immunoaffinity purified as
described previously (32, 44).
sH-2Dd was emptied of self-peptides and loaded
with synthetic P18-I10 by a high pH treatment that has been
described before (45).
Generation of mAbs specific to H-2Dd/P18-I10 complex
C57BL/6 mice transgenic for a soluble, secreted analog of
H-2Dd on a C57BL/6 background
(B6.tDd(
3)/Q10b,
referred to here as DD; Refs. 46, 47) were bred and
maintained at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Transgenic Mouse Facility (Frederick, MD). Animals were immunized in
one foot pad at 2-wk intervals with H-2Dd/P18-I10
peptide complex (20 µg emulsified in Freunds complete adjuvant).
Following two immunizations, draining lymph node cells were isolated
and were fused with SP2/0 cells at a ratio of 2:1 using PEG 4000 (Life
Technologies, Grand Island, NY; Ref. 48). After fusion,
the cells were resuspended in HAT (hypoxanthine, aminopterin, and
thymidine) medium containing 20% FCS and recombinant mouse IL-6 (100
U/ml; Genzyme, Cambridge, MA) at a final concentration of 5 x
105 myeloma cells/ml and were plated at 100
µl/well in 96-well plates. After 1014 days, supernatant from each
well was screened separately by flow cytometry for reactivity with LKD8
cells (H-2Dd-transfected embryonic cells) pulsed
with 10 µg/ml P18-I10 peptide in the presence of 5 µg/ml of human
2-microglobulin (h
2m;
Fitzgerald Industries International, Concord, MA). Of
400 wells
examined, five contained Abs that stained LKD8 cells pulsed with
P18-I10 peptide. Two of these five Abs did not stain the unloaded LKD8
cells or those pulsed with the control motif peptide (AGPARAAAL). (The
protocol in which lymph node rather than spleen cells were used for the
fusion was developed after two fusions to spleen in which a total of
1500 hybridomas were screened without identifying any positive clones.)
Hybridomas producing Abs specific for the
P18-I10/H-2Dd complex were recloned by limiting
dilution and retested. The isotyping of mAbs was performed by
ELISA using the Mouse MonoAb ID kit (Zymed, San Francisco, CA).
(KP14/1 is IgG2b, and KP15/11 is IgG1). The Abs were purified from
hybridoma supernatants by affinity chromatography using protein A- and
protein G-Sepharose 4 Fast Flow (Pharmacia, Piscataway, NJ)
respectively.
Flow cytometry
Approximately 2 x 105 cells were incubated with mAbs for 1 h at 4°C. After washing with PBS containing 2% BSA and 1% sodium azide, cells were incubated with FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (1:100 dilution; Dako, Carpinteria, CA) for 40 min at 4°C. After washing in PBS, cell staining (with gating on viable cells using propidium iodide) was assessed with a FACScan flow cytometer, and data were analyzed using Cell Quest software (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, CA).
T cell activation assays
mAbs KP14 and KP15 were tested for their ability to inhibit stimulation of B4.2.3 cells (H-2Dd-restricted T cell hybridoma specific for P18-I10 peptide; Ref. 32). In brief, 1 x 104 cells were stimulated with 2 x 103 SKT4.5 cells in the presence of graded concentrations of peptide P18-I10, with or without the indicated purified mAbs, for 16 h at 37°C. A portion of the culture supernatant was then removed and tested for IL-2 by ELISA with MiniKit mouse IL-2 (Endogen, Cambridge, MA). The remaining cells were provided with 1 µCi of [3H]thymidine (ICN Pharmaceuticals, Costa Mesa, CA), and incorporation of radiolabel into insoluble material was assessed after a 4-h incubation at 37°C.
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)
Binding of scTCR (V
2.6V
7C
) or purified mAbs (34-5-8S,
KP14/1, or KP15/11) to the sH-2Dd complexed with
different peptides was evaluated by SPR using a Pharmacia BIAcore
(Pharmacia Biosensor AB, Uppsala, Sweden). All binding experiments were
performed at 25°C. mAbs were coupled to the biosensor surface through
free amino groups at pH 4.55.5 according to the conventional method
as described previously (45, 49). The scTCR was coupled to
the biosensor chip via the thiol group of the free cysteine present in
the C
domain using a heterobifunctional cross-linking reagent
(sulfo-succinimidyl
4[N-maleimido-methyl]cyclohexane-1-carboxylate) as
described in detail elsewhere (19, 45). SPR was also used
to estimate the affinity of mAb KP14/1 and KP15/11. To determine the
kinetic association and dissociation rate constants of MHC/peptide
complexes for individual mAbs (KP14/1 and KP15/11),
sH-2Dd/P18-I10 complexes were first homogeneously
loaded and purified by gel filtration and then injected at different
concentrations ranging from 8 x 10-8 to
6.2 x 10-6 M over surfaces coupled to mAb
KP14/1 or KP15/11. From these kinetic data, kinetic rate constants and
the equilibrium constants for dissociation
(Kd) were calculated as described
previously (19). In addition,
Kd values were determined from
steady-state binding curves and analyzed according to Scatchard
(50). Values obtained from kinetic measurements were
consistent with those obtained from the steady-state curves.
Analysis of Ab-variable region gene and encoded protein sequences
mRNA from hybridoma cells producing mAbs KP14/1 or KP15/11 was
isolated using the Poly(A)Ttract System 1000 kit (Promega, Madison,
WI). These mRNAs served as templates for synthesis of cDNA using
hexadeoxyribonucleotides as primers and cloned murine reverse
transcriptase. This cDNA was used as a template for preparation of
Ab-variable (V) region genes in PCRs, for which heavy and light
chain primers were purchased from Pharmacia Biotech and Taq
polymerase was purchased from Perkin-Elmer (Norwalk, CT). Amplified
heavy and light chain PCR products were purified by 1% agarose gel
electrophoresis. For preparation of Fv gene fragments, we used reagents
and a protocol provided by Pharmacia Biotech (Mouse ScFv Module).
Purified cDNA corresponding to the Ab variable region genes
(14VL, 14VH,
15VL, and 15VH) was
inserted into the pCR 2.1 vector (Invitrogen, San Diego, CA) according
to the procedure described in the Original TA Cloning Kit, and
bacterial transformants were grown on Luria-Bertani agar plates
containing kanamycin (50 µg/ml) and X-Gal
(5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-
-D-galactopyranoside)
as an indicator. White colonies were picked and grown overnight at
37°C in Luria-Bertani broth containing ampicillin, and plasmid DNA
containing the V region fragments was purified (Wizard Minipreps DNA
Purification System; Promega) and then sequenced with the Universal M13
Reverse and Forward (-20) Primers (Invitrogen) and the Perkin-Elmer DNA
sequencing kit. Products of the sequencing reactions were
electrophoresed and analyzed with an ABI 373 DNA sequencer. DNA
sequences were analyzed with IgBlast
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/igblast/) and the DNA plot analyses of
the ImMunoGeneTics database (IMGT) (http://imgt.cines.fr:8104/dnaplot/)
(51, 52). Nucleotide sequences have been deposited in
GenBank under accession numbers AF261879, AF261880, AF261881, and
AF261882. Display of the molecular structure of
H-2Dd/P18-I10 using Protein Data Bank
(53) coordinates 1DDH (54) was accomplished
with GRASP 1.3.6 (55).
CTL induction in vivo and blocking with mAbs
BALB/c mice were immunized i.p. with 5 x 106 PFU recombinant vaccinia virus (vPE16; Ref. 56), which expresses the HIV IIIB gp160 envelope glycoprotein. To block CTL induction against H-2Dd/P18-I10 complexes in vivo, BALB/c mice were injected with different concentrations of KP15 (1 day before, again 4 h before immunization with vPE16, and 4 h, and 1, 2, 3, and 4 days after immunization with vPE16). At each time point, BALB/c mice were injected simultaneously i.p. and i.v. with equal concentrations of KP15. Three weeks later, immune spleen cells were cultured at 5 x 106 per ml in 24-well culture plates in complete T cell medium (RPMI 1640 containing 10% FBS, 2 mM L-glutamine, penicillin (100 U/ml), streptomycin (100 µg/ml), and 5 x 10-5 M 2-ME). These spleen cells from immunized mice were restimulated in vitro with 4 x 106 of 3300-rad irradiated syngeneic spleen cells pulsed with 1 µM P18-I10 for 7 days before assay. (Additional details of the CTL assay are given elsewhere; Ref. 57 .) The cytolytic activity of these CTL lines was measured in a 4-h 51Cr release assay. P815 (H-2d) targets were tested in the presence or absence of P18-I10 peptide (1 µM). For testing the peptide specificity of CTL, 51Cr-labeled P815 targets were pulsed for 2 h with peptide (1 µM) at the beginning of the assay. The percent specific 51Cr release was calculated as 100 x (experimental release - spontaneous release)/(maximum release - spontaneous release). Maximum release was determined from supernatants of cells that were lysed by the addition of 5% Triton X-100. Spontaneous release was determined from target cells incubated without added effector cells.
| Results |
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To improve the likelihood of obtaining peptide/MHC-restricted
mAbs, we developed a strategy based on mice transgenic for a soluble
analog of H-2Dd, which we had previously shown to
be partially tolerant to the H-2Dd molecule
(47). These animals do not readily raise allo-Abs against
H-2Dd molecules expressed on lymphoid cells. We
prepared soluble H-2Dd molecules which were
loaded in vitro with P18-I10 (45) and immunized the
transgenic mice. Ab-producing cells were immortalized by somatic cell
hybridization (see Materials and Methods), and hybridoma
supernatants were screened by flow cytometry in three stages: first, to
identify those that reacted with the TAP-deficient
H-2Dd-expressing embryonic cell line, LKD8, upon
exposure to P18-I10 and human
2-microglobulin;
second, to eliminate those that bound LKD8 without addition of peptide;
and third, to eliminate those that bound LKD8 when pulsed with an
H-2Dd-motif peptide, a peptide known to bind
H-2Dd well, with all nonanchor residues
substituted with alanine. Efficient loading of the LKD8 indicator cells
with peptide was confirmed by reactivity with 34-5-8S, a mAb that
reacts with a structure that is peptide dependent, but not peptide
specific (39). Two hybridomas that satisfied our criteria
for peptide specificity were identified (KP14 and KP15) that were
positive in the first and negative in the second and third flow
cytometry screenings by indirect immunofluorescence. They were isolated
and immediately cloned by limiting dilution.
The mAbs KP14/1 and KP15/11 showed indirect immunofluorescent staining
of high intensity only of LKD8 cells bearing
H-2Dd/P18-I10 complexes (Fig. 1
A). No reactivity was
observed with cells not exposed to peptide or when LKD8 cells were
loaded with a motif peptide or other
H-2Dd-specific peptides derived from either
endogenous proteins (pD38B, pD46A, pD47; Ref. 42) or from
viral proteins such as influenza virus neuraminidase (pNA) or the
nucleoprotein of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (pNP). The failure
of the Abs to stain cells pulsed with peptide pD47 (IGPNRAFNF), which
is identical in five of nine comparable positions to peptide P18-I10
(RGPGRAFVTI), confirmed the peptide specificity of both mAbs. To
evaluate the possibility that the mAbs were specific for P18-I10 alone,
even when bound to a different MHC-I molecule, we asked whether either
KP14 or KP15 would show specific staining of cells that lacked
H-2Dd, but that expressed cell surface MHC-I
molecules capable of binding P18-I10. Using T2 cells, a human line
expressing HLA-A2, a molecule known to bind P18-I10 (58),
we asked whether either Ab bound the peptide/HLA-A2 complex under
conditions that allowed a peptide-dependent increase in the binding of
the conformation-dependent mAb, W6/32 (Fig. 1
B). Although
the level of peptide-dependent induction of W6/32 staining was twice
the background level, there was no specific induction of reactivity
with KP14 or KP15. This observation lends additional support to the
view that KP14 and KP15 bind the H-2Dd/P18-I10
complex.
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Although these experiments, using cell surface H-2 molecules
exposed to P18-I10 and various other peptides, clearly demonstrated the
peptide specificity of the Abs, it remained formally possible that the
peptide-dependent complexes recognized by these Abs involved some other
MHC molecule or even other unrelated molecules expressed on the plasma
membrane. To confirm the H-2Dd dependence and the
peptide specificity of these Abs, they were tested for their ability to
bind purified soluble H-2Dd molecules containing
either their pool of self-peptides or to bind preparations that were
specifically loaded with P18-I10. These binding studies were performed
using SPR as the detection method, and the results are summarized in
Fig. 2
. Although Ab 34-5-8S binds both
the H-2Dd pool (i.e., those molecules complexed
with a full repertoire of self peptides) and
H-2Dd molecules loaded specifically with P18-I10,
mAbs KP14/1 and KP15/11 fail to bind the H-2Dd
pool and yet efficiently interact with those
H-2Dd molecules specifically loaded with P18-I10.
Thus, the purified sH-2Dd protein, in the absence
of additional components other than P18-I10, binds these Abs. In
addition, using SPR we determined the affinities of the two Abs for
H-2Dd/P18-I10 complexes. KP14/1 and KP15/11 had
affinity constants, Kd, of 7.14
x 10-7 and 8.47 x
10-7 M, respectively.
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Inhibition of T cell recognition by mAbs KP14/1 and KP15/11
To compare the nature of the site to which the Abs and TCR bind,
the two Abs were used to inhibit the peptide dose-dependent activation
of the B4.2.3 T cell hybridoma (see Fig. 5
). As shown in A, in the
absence of added Ab, the hybridoma is stimulated to release IL-2 or to
be inhibited in its constitutive proliferation at a dose of P18-I10 of
1 nM. Ab KP15/11 (0.3 mg/ml) potently inhibits IL-2 secretion and
constitutive proliferation, even at the highest doses of peptide tested
(5 nM). The IL-2 secretion assay appears to be more sensitive than the
proliferation inhibition one to the effect of the mAbs. Abs KP14/1 (0.3
mg/ml) and the anti-
1
2 domain-dependent mAb, 34-5-8S (0.3
mg/ml), inhibited less well. At a lower dose (0.06 mg/ml), KP14/1
showed no significant inhibition of the peptide-dependent activation.
The above results are all consistent with the view that these two
peptide-specific, MHC-restricted mAbs bind a site that overlaps that
seen by the TCR with the same specificity.
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The above assays indicated that KP14 and KP15 mAbs both recognize
P18-I10/H-2Dd complexes produced from purified
protein and synthetic peptide. However, they do not address the issue
as to whether the mAbs bind peptide generated via the endogenous MHC-I
presentation pathway. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the binding
of such mAbs to peptides generated in this way, we administered KP15
mAb to BALB/c animals immediately before and during exposure to a dose
of recombinant vaccinia virus encoding the entire HIV IIIB gp160
envelope glycoprotein. A schedule of seven injections of mAb was used,
and the dose per injection was evaluated. Three weeks after in vivo
priming, spleen cells were removed and restimulated in culture with the
antigenic peptide for 1 wk. The resulting CTL were evaluated for lysis
of peptide-pulsed target cells (Fig. 6
).
As shown in Fig. 6
, exposure of the host animal during priming with a
dose of 0.001 mg/ml of KP15 had no significant effect in reducing the
activity of bulk CTL as compared with an isotype-matched IgG1 control.
However, doses of 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg/ml showed significant inhibition
of the resultant CTL. This experiment demonstrates that the in vivo use
of the mAb can directly block the priming of CTL in vivo as elicited by
infection with the recombinant vaccinia vector.
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One of our initial goals in isolating these mAbs was to gain
insight into the structural basis by which molecules of the Ig
superfamily, mAb, and cloned TCR interact specifically with a
peptide/MHC complex. To explore the relationship among the three
molecules, KP14, KP15, and the V
2.6V
7C
scTCR of hybridoma
B4.2.3, we compared their amino acid sequences. We compared the
VH sequences of KP14 and KP15 with the V
sequence of the B4.2.3 TCR and the VL sequences
of KP14 and KP15 with V
sequences of the TCR (Fig. 7
). Structural comparisons of V
and
V
have not yet definitively resolved the issue of which is more
similar to VH or VL, but
VH and V
are both assembled at the DNA level
from V, D, and J gene segments, and V
generally appears to provide a
better fit when aligned with VL
(13). For these TCR-like mAbs, the
VH showed greater similarity to TCR V
, and
VL to V
. Sequence comparisons reveal
intriguing similarities among these molecules (see Fig. 7
and Table I
). First, both VH,
although they differed in CDR3, used the identical germline V gene.
This is the mouse IGHV3 K01569 according to the IMGT nomenclature and
is designated VH36-60* by IgBLAST (Table I
). The
CDR3 of the heavy chain of KP14 (labeled 14H) is 12 residues long and
that of KP15 (15H) is 11, whereas that of the V
of the B4.2.3 TCR is
10 (Fig. 7
). The two mAb heavy chains use different IGHD segments
(M35332 IGHD-FL16.1*02 for 14H and L32868 IGHD-Q52*01 for 15H). The
JH segments used for these two heavy chain genes
seem to be the same (V00880 IGHJ2*01). These heavy chain CDR3s are
similar in that they each contain three acidic residues and four
aromatic ones. The amino acid sequence alignment of the heavy chains
with the V
(Fig. 7
) is also remarkable for the identity of residues
5054 of the heavy chains with residues 4751 of the V
(amino acid
residues YISYD). This sequence coincides with CDR2 and may be
indicative of an important role CDR2 plays in a specific interaction
with H-2Dd.
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light chain V family (60). They represent different
germline genes: IGKV10S1 and IGKV6S6 according to the IMGT nomenclature
(51, 52), and use different J
segments. These two
different
light chains apparently represent structurally
alternative solutions for the stringent dual requirements of
productively interacting with their respective heavy chains and of
binding the P18-I10/H-2Dd complex. | Discussion |
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We have described here the use of a transgenic mouse that expresses a
soluble analog of the MHC-I molecule H-2Dd that
is partially tolerant to this molecule to generate specific Abs
directed against a peptide/H-2Dd complex. These
animals failed to generate an alloantibody response but were capable of
rejecting H-2Dd-disparate skin grafts, indicating
partial tolerance (47). Therefore, we expected that such
animals would produce highly specific Ab responses to the peptide/MHC
complex. Immunization with peptide-loaded H-2Dd
molecules induced an Ab response against the
P18-I10/H-2Dd complex (data not shown), but a
large number of hybrid clones still needed to be screened to identify
positive hybridomas. Because of the possibility that some Abs might be
peptide dependent and MHC specific without exhibiting both peptide and
MHC specificity, our initial screen eliminated all Abs that reacted
with H-2Dd when exposed to a motif peptide. With
this strategy we isolated two mAbs directed against the peptide/MHC
complex, and have reported here the characterization of these mAbs.
They show peptide and MHC specificitya specificity similar, but not
identical, with that of a P18-I10/H-2Dd-specific
TCR. In particular, the TCR shows great sensitivity to amino acid
substitutions at positions 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the decamer peptide,
whereas the mAbs are most sensitive to substitutions at positions 6 and
7, but not positions 8 or 9. Because the high resolution crystal
structure of H-2Dd complexed with P18-I10 is now
known (54, 70, 71), visualization of the peptide residues
of the complex helps to explain some of the differences in recognition
between the B4.2.3 TCR and the two mAbs (Fig. 8
). In particular, both the mAbs and the
TCR seem to be focused on amino acid 7 of the bound peptide,
phenylalanine, the side chain of which offers a prominent bulge to
either TCR or mAb. All four substitutions at this position of this
peptide tested (see Fig. 5
) were not well tolerated by either of the
mAbs, whereas only the tyrosine substitution was acceptable to the
TCR.
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-chain of the TCR. A number of examples
of structures of peptide/MHC-I/TCR complexes suggest a canonical
orientation of TCR with respect to the p/MHC (13, 72), and
the CDR2 of the TCR
-chain would, by analogy, be expected to make
major contacts with the carboxyl-terminal "right hand" side of the
1 helix of the MHC. This raises the possibility that the use of
animals tolerant to H-2Dd for immunization with
P18-I10/H-2Dd complexes might preferentially
expand those B cells bearing Abs of this particular
VH family. This particular
VH may have a structure encoded in CDR2 that
interacts strongly with an antigenic region of
H-2Dd. More extensive analysis of both the B and
T cell repertoires that emerge from exposure to
P18-I10/H-2Dd complexes will be needed to
understand this phenomenon better.
Our mapping of the peptide residues that affect both TCR and mAb
binding to the P18-I10/H-2Dd complex is
complementary to the detailed analysis of two OVA
peptide/H-2Kb-specific mAbs recently reported
(73). In that study, the authors evaluated the reactivity
of two peptide/H-2Kb- specific mAbs using a panel
of variant peptides as well as several
H-2Kb-mutant molecules. These mAbs showed some
fine specificity differences, but were very similar to each other and,
based on the patterns of reactivity to different peptides and different
H-2Kb-mutant presenting molecules, the authors
concluded that the two mAbs were focused on the carboxyl-terminal
"right hand" region of the bound peptide and of the adjacent
carboxyl-terminal region of the
1 helix and the amino-terminal
region of the
2 helix. The analysis of the CDR3 sequences of the mAb
chains revealed that both mAbs used the same CDR3 and exploited a rare
arginine-lysine sequence encoded at the
JH/VH junction, possibly to
accommodate an acidic glutamic acid at position 6 of the OVA, SIINFEKL
peptide. In our studies of the binding of KP14 and KP15 to
P18-I10/H-2Dd complexes, we have compared the
binding specificity as determined in a direct binding assay to that of
a recombinant TCR with the same specificity. The major focus of both
mAbs, and of the TCR, seems to be the center of the peptide, residues 5
and 7, whereas the TCR is also particularly sensitive to peptide
residues 8 and 9. Indeed, T cell functional studies showed that the T
cells focus especially on the V at position 8 of P18-I10
(74, 75, 76). mAb KP14 is also more sensitive to amino acid
substitutions at peptide position 1, suggesting that its footprint may
lie somewhat more to the "left hand side" of the peptide/MHC
complex (encompassing the amino terminus of the
1 helix, the amino
terminus of the bound peptide, and the carboxyl terminus of the
2
helix). As discussed in Results, the striking identity in
sequence of the CDR2 region of the mAb and the TCR also suggests that
the mAb VH align spatially with the V
of the
TCR. Although it is tempting to model the mAbs in complex with the
peptide/MHC, as has been accomplished for a recombinant Ab that reacts
with an influenza hemagglutinin peptide/H-2Kk
complex (77), several considerations make this an
uncertain undertaking: 1) only the structures of the
P18-I10/H-2Dd complex and of the unliganded V
of the B4.2.3 TCR are now known; 2) although the accumulated structural
evidence would suggest that the orientation of the TCR on the
peptide/MHC is conserved among MHC-I molecules, with the V
of the
TCR directed more to the carboxyl half of the peptide and the V
aimed at the amino-terminal half of the peptide (13, 78),
the recent description of an "orthogonal" orientation of an
MHC-II-restricted TCR with respect to its peptide/MHC-II ligand
(14) might suggest caution in broad generalizations at
this time.
Perhaps the most significant observation we report here concerns the potential value of peptide/MHC-specific mAbs in modulating the immune response in vivo. In particular, we have demonstrated that KP15, when given to animals during the priming stage of immunization against the HIV IIIB gp160 envelope glycoprotein using a recombinant vaccinia vector, specifically blocks the priming against the immunodominant antigenic peptide. The potential for exploiting this and other peptide/MHC mAbs to block or alter immune responses in vivo requires further exploration.
In summary, we have demonstrated the effectiveness of a novel immunization strategy for generating peptide/MHC-specific mAbs, characterized the fine specificity of these mAbs, examined the relationship of these mAbs to a TCR with the same specificity, and revealed the efficacy of the administration of such mAbs in vivo in blocking the priming of a specific immune response. Further studies should allow more detailed understanding of the precise molecular footprint of these mAbs on the peptide/MHC complex, steps in the delivery of antigenic peptides to the MHC-I pathway, and the molecular and cellular details of the inhibition of in vivo priming.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
2 Visiting Scientist from Cancer Research Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. ![]()
3 Current address: Biotechnology General, Rehovot, Israel. ![]()
4 K.P. and D.P. contributed equally to this work. ![]()
5 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. David Margulies, Molecular Biology Section, Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Building 10, Room 11N311, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1892. ![]()
6 Abbreviations used in this paper: MHC-I, MHC class I; ; MHC-II, MHC class II; P18-I10, HIV IIIB envelope glycoprotein 160-derived H-2Dd-restricted peptide, RGPGRAFVTI; CDR, complementarity-determining region(s); scTCR, single chain TCR; sH-2Dd, soluble H-2Dd; SPR, surface plasmon resonance; IMGT, ImMunoGeneTics database. ![]()
Received for publication May 2, 2000. Accepted for publication August 28, 2000.
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