Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Alerts
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All ...
  • Videos
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
    • Author's Takes
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews ...
    • Immune Environment in Glioblastoma (Feb 2023)
    • Korsmeyer Award 25th Anniversary Collection (Jan 2023)
    • Aging (Jul 2022)
    • Next-Generation Sequencing in Medicine (Jun 2022)
    • New Therapeutic Targets in Cardiovascular Diseases (Mar 2022)
    • Immunometabolism (Jan 2022)
    • Circadian Rhythm (Oct 2021)
    • View all review series ...
  • Viewpoint
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Commentaries
    • Research letters
    • Letters to the editor
    • Editorials
    • Viewpoint
    • Top read articles
  • Clinical Medicine
  • JCI This Month
    • Current issue
    • Past issues

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • Reviews
  • Review series
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Author's Takes
  • In-Press Preview
  • Commentaries
  • Research letters
  • Letters to the editor
  • Editorials
  • Viewpoint
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Alerts
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
Hotspot autoimmune T cell receptor binding underlies pathogen and insulin peptide cross-reactivity
David K. Cole, … , Pierre J. Rizkallah, Andrew K. Sewell
David K. Cole, … , Pierre J. Rizkallah, Andrew K. Sewell
Published May 16, 2016
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2016;126(6):2191-2204. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI85679.
View: Text | PDF | Corrigendum
Research Article Autoimmunity Immunology

Hotspot autoimmune T cell receptor binding underlies pathogen and insulin peptide cross-reactivity

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

The cross-reactivity of T cells with pathogen- and self-derived peptides has been implicated as a pathway involved in the development of autoimmunity. However, the mechanisms that allow the clonal T cell antigen receptor (TCR) to functionally engage multiple peptide–major histocompatibility complexes (pMHC) are unclear. Here, we studied multiligand discrimination by a human, preproinsulin reactive, MHC class-I–restricted CD8+ T cell clone (1E6) that can recognize over 1 million different peptides. We generated high-resolution structures of the 1E6 TCR bound to 7 altered peptide ligands, including a pathogen-derived peptide that was an order of magnitude more potent than the natural self-peptide. Evaluation of these structures demonstrated that binding was stabilized through a conserved lock-and-key–like minimal binding footprint that enables 1E6 TCR to tolerate vast numbers of substitutions outside of this so-called hotspot. Highly potent antigens of the 1E6 TCR engaged with a strong antipathogen-like binding affinity; this engagement was governed though an energetic switch from an enthalpically to entropically driven interaction compared with the natural autoimmune ligand. Together, these data highlight how T cell cross-reactivity with pathogen-derived antigens might break self-tolerance to induce autoimmune disease.

Authors

David K. Cole, Anna M. Bulek, Garry Dolton, Andrea J. Schauenberg, Barbara Szomolay, William Rittase, Andrew Trimby, Prithiviraj Jothikumar, Anna Fuller, Ania Skowera, Jamie Rossjohn, Cheng Zhu, John J. Miles, Mark Peakman, Linda Wooldridge, Pierre J. Rizkallah, Andrew K. Sewell

×

Figure 1

The 1E6 T cell clone reacts with a broad sensitivity range to APLs.

Options: View larger image (or click on image) Download as PowerPoint
The 1E6 T cell clone reacts with a broad sensitivity range to APLs.
(A a...
(A and B) The 1E6 T cell clone was tested in a peptide dilution assay, in triplicate, with MVWGPDPLYV (gray), YLGGPDFPTI (red), ALWGPDPAAA (blue), AQWGPDPAAA (green), RQFGPDWIVA (dark blue), RQWGPDPAAV (purple), YQFGPDFPIA (yellow), and RQFGPDFPTI (cyan) peptides presented by HLA-A*0201–expressing C1R cells for release of MIP-1β (A) and killing (B). (C) The 1E6 T cell clone was stained, in duplicate, with tetramers composed of each APL (colored as above) presented by HLA-A*0201. (D) The stability of each APL (colored as above) was tested, in duplicate, using CD by recording the peak at 218 nm absorbance from 5°C–90°C. Tm values were calculated using a Boltzmann fit to each set of data.

Copyright © 2023 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts