Determinants recognized by human cytotoxic T cells on a natural hybrid class I HLA molecule.

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The major histocompatibility complex class I HLA molecules are the primary determinants recognized by allogeneic cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), and serve as restricting elements for CTL recognition of viral, chemical, or minor histocompatibility antigens. HLA-Aw69 is a naturally occurring hybrid class I molecule that we have used to investigate the regions of class I antigens involved in human CTL recognition. HLA-Aw69 appears to have resulted from an exon shuffle between two closely related class I genes: the .alpha.1 domain of HLA-Aw69 is identical to that of HLA-Aw68, while the .alpha.2 and .alpha.3 domains are identical to HLA-A2. The determinants recognized by human allogeneic CTL clones specific for HLA-A2, -Aw68, and/or -Aw69 fall into three patterns: (a) CTL determinants are located on both the .alpha.1 domains; (b) interaction of the .alpha.1 and .alpha.2 domains results in new combinatorial determinants; (c) interaction of the .alpha.1 and .alpha.2 domains in the hybrid molecule results in the loss of CTL determinants that are present on both parental molecules. Thus, using human cTL clones, target cells, and HLA molecules, we show that the interaction of the .alpha.1 and .alpha.2 domains alters CTL determinants in ways not directly predictable from primary structure.

This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit: