title: Antigen contact sites in class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted, trinitrophenyl-specific T cell receptors.
abstract: Cloned trinitrophenyl (TNP)-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTL) were obtained from mice transgenic for the beta chain of the antigen-specific receptor (TcR) of a Kb-restricted, TNP-specific CTL clone (BT7.4.1). The transgene-expressing CTL, specific for TNP/Kb were found to select for TcR alpha chains highly similar to that of the transgene donor clone BT7.4.1. In that way, two clones (II/7 and III/1) were identified whose TcR differed from the BT7.4.1 receptor only in their N alpha- and J alpha-sequences, i.e. within the third complementarity-determining regions of their alpha chains (CDR3 alpha). Moreover, the TcR of clones II/7 and III/1 had both rearranged the same J alpha element, thus differing from each other by only two amino acids in their V alpha/J alpha junctional regions. Functionally, however, clone III/1 exhibited unique cytolytic specificities for synthetic, Kb-binding TNP-peptides as well as for chemically TNP-modified allogeneic (H-2k) target cells. These findings demonstrate that (a) similar to "conventional" peptide antigens, synthetic hapten-peptide determinants are contacted by CDR3 alpha-determined amino acids of the TcR and (b) in contrast to current models, CDR alpha also appears to influence the major histocompatibility complex restriction specificity of a given TcR.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Immunbiologie, Freiburg.
authors.forename: H U
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Weltzien
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hebbelmann
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pflugfelder
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ruh
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ortmann
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iglesias
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000276:immunology*; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D014301:Trinitrobenzenes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D014301:Trinitrobenzenes