CD1b-mycolic acid tetramers demonstrate T-cell fine specificity for mycobacterial lipid tails.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium tuberculosis synthesizes a thick cell wall comprised of mycolic acids (MA), which are foreign antigens for human T cells. T-cell clones from multiple donors were used to determine the fine specificity of MA recognition by human αβ T cells. Most CD1-presented lipid antigens contain large hydrophilic head groups comprised of carbohydrates or peptides that dominate patterns of T-cell specificity. MA diverges from the consensus antigen motif in that it lacks a head group. Using multiple forms of natural and synthetic MA and MA-specific T-cells with different T-cell receptors, we found that, unlike antigens with larger head groups, lipid length strongly controlled T-cell responses to MA. In addition, the three forms of MA that naturally occur in M. tuberculosis that differ in modi

SUBMITTER: Van Rhijn I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5716475 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature