title: The requirement for proteasome activity class I major histocompatibility complex antigen presentation is dictated by the length of preprocessed antigen.
abstract: Accumulating evidence has implicated the proteasome in the processing of protein along the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I presentation pathway. The availability of potent proteasome inhibitors provides an opportunity to examine the role of proteasome function in antigen presentation by MHC class I molecules to CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). We have investigated the processing and presenting of antigenic epitopes from influenza hemagglutinin in target cells treated with the inhibitor of proteasome activity MG132. In the absence of proteasome activity, the processing and presentation of the full-length hemagglutinin was abolished, suggesting the requirement for proteasome function in the processing and presentation of the hemagglutinin glycoprotein. Epitope-containing translation products as short as 21 amino acids when expressed in target cells required proteasome activity for processing and presentation of the hemagglutin epitope to CTLs. However, when endogenous peptides of 17 amino acids or shorter were expressed in target cells, the processing and presentation of epitopes contained in these peptides were insensitive to the proteasome inhibitor. Our results support the hypothesis that proteasome activity is required for the generation of peptides presented by MHC class I molecules and that the requirement for proteasome activity is dependent on the size of the translation product expressed in the target cell. The implications of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Braciale
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017951:Antigen Presentation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D000939:Epitopes; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D006389:Hemagglutinins, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000378:metabolism*; D007976:Leupeptins / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000378:metabolism*; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; D000939:Epitopes; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D006389:Hemagglutinins, Viral; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D007976:Leupeptins; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; C072553:benzyloxycarbonylleucyl-leucyl-leucine aldehyde