title: Outsize peptides bulge out of the groove.
abstract: The highly polymorphic MHC class I molecules are a central part of the cellular immune response to viruses. They present peptides, processed from viral proteins synthesized in the cytosol, to CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTL) that eliminate virus-infected cells. Here, Christopher Thorpe, describes the recent flurry of high resolution X-ray crystallographic structures that has allowed a general model of MHC-peptide interactions to be developed.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Crystallography, Birkbeck College, London, UK.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Thorpe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000737:chemistry; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen / Q000737:chemistry; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015234:HLA-A Antigens; C053029:HLA-A*68 antigen; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell