100 Years later: Celebrating the contributions of x-ray crystallography to allergy and clinical immunology.

ABSTRACT: Current knowledge of molecules involved in immunology and allergic disease results from the significant contributions of x-ray crystallography, a discipline that just celebrated its 100th anniversary. The histories of allergens and x-ray crystallography are intimately intertwined. The first enzyme structure to be determined was lysozyme, also known as the chicken food allergen Gal d 4. Crystallography determines the exact 3-dimensional positions of atoms in molecules. Structures of molecular complexes in the disciplines of immunology and allergy have revealed the atoms involved in molecular interactions and mechanisms of disease. These complexes include peptides presented by MHC class II molecules, cytokines bound to their receptors, allergen-antibody complexes, and innate immune receptors

SUBMITTER: Pomes A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4502579 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature