Allospecific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Recognize an H-2 Peptide in the Context of a Murine Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Molecule

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1988-03, Vol.85 (6), p.1927-1931
• Main Authors: Song, Elizabeth S., Linsk, Richard, Olson, Clifford A., McMillan, Minnie, Goodenow, Robert S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Analysis of the immune response. Humoral and cellular immunity; Animals; Antigens; Biological and medical sciences; Blasts; Cross Reactions; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; H-2 Antigens - immunology; Haploidy; Haplotypes; Histocompatibility Antigen H-2D; Immunobiology; Isoantigens - immunology; L cells; Major Histocompatibility Complex; Major histocompatibility complex genes; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C3H; Molecular Sequence Data; Molecular structure; Molecules; Organs and cells involved in the immune response; Reactivity; Spleen cells; T lymphocytes; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - immunology
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.85.6.1927

We have isolated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) preferentially reactive with the α 1 external domain of the H-2Ldantigen by selecting for T cells capable of recognizing a variant major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigen sharing α 1 sequences with H-2Ld. Using these CTL, we demonstrate that a synthetic α 1 peptide corresponding to one of the helices derived from the H-2Ldmolecule can be presented by a class I restriction element to reconstitute a CTL determinant borne by intact H-2Ld. Moreover, several other H-2L-reactive CTL generated independently were also able to recognize H-2Ldeither as an intact alloantigen or as a peptide in conjunction with appropriate class I restriction elements. These data demonstrate that an H-2 peptide can reconstitute a CTL target structure and suggest that some alloreactive T cells in fact might be directed against allogeneic class I peptides in the context of a class I framework.