Ligands for the T-cell receptor: hard times for avidity models.
T-cell activation occurs when the T-cell receptor (TCR) binds to a self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule carrying a specific peptide. Small changes in peptide structure can alter or inhibit this response. Although this phenomenon is normally attributed to a lowering of the avidity of the ligand for its receptor, recent data suggest that conformational changes in the receptor itself may be playing a critical role, as discussed here by Charles Janeway.
Janeway
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Section of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
D000818:Animals; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens; D008024:Ligands; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell