Elongated TCR alpha chain CDR3 favors an altered CD4 cytokine profile.

ABSTRACT:

Background

CD4 T lymphocyte activation requires T cell receptor (TCR) engagement by peptide/MHC (major histocompatibility complex) (pMHC). The TCR complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) contains variable α and β loops critical for pMHC recognition. During any immune response, tuning of TCR usage through progressive clonal selection occurs. Th1 and Th2 cells operate at different avidities for activation and display distinct transcriptional programs, although polarization may be plastic, influenced by pathogens and cytokines. We therefore hypothesized that CDR3αβ sequence features may intrinsically influence CD4 phenotype during progression of a response.

Results

We show that CD4 polarization involves distinct CDR3α usage: Th1 and Th17 cells favored short TCR CDR3α sequen

SUBMITTER: Reynolds C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4046507 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature