title: Insights into autoimmunity gained from structural analysis of MHC-peptide complexes.
abstract: The structural and functional properties of HLA-DQ and -DR molecules that confer susceptibility to several common autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, have been defined. The relevant polymorphisms directly affect interaction with peptides, which provides strong support for the hypothesis that these diseases are peptide-antigen driven. Several studies indicate that structural modifications of peptides can affect MHC class II binding and/or TCR recognition and should be considered in the analysis of T cell responses in autoimmune diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Room D1410, 44 Binney Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Kai_Wucherpfennig@dfci.harvard.edu
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Wucherpfennig
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D015551:Autoimmunity; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000276:immunology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology; D005903:Gliadin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D010455:Peptides; D005903:Gliadin