Key Residues at Third CDR3β Position Impact Structure and Antigen Recognition of Human Invariant NK TCRs.

ABSTRACT: The human invariant NK (iNK) TCR is largely composed of the invariant TCR Vα24-Jα18 chain and semivariant TCR Vβ11 chains with variable CDR3β sequences. The direct role of CDR3β in Ag recognition has been studied extensively. Although it was noted that CDR3β can interact with CDR3α, how this interaction might indirectly influence Ag recognition is not fully elucidated. We observed that the third position of Vβ11 CDR3 can encode an Arg or Ser residue as a result of somatic rearrangement. Clonotypic analysis of the two iNK TCR types with a single amino acid substitution revealed that the staining intensity by anti-Vα24 Abs depends on whether Ser or Arg is encoded. When stained with an anti-Vα24-Jα18 Ab, human primary invariant NKT cells could be divided into Vα24 low- and high-intensity subs

SUBMITTER: Chamoto K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5262525 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature