NMR-directed design of pre-TCRβ and pMHC molecules implies a distinct geometry for pre-TCR relative to αβTCR recognition of pMHC.

ABSTRACT: The pre-T cell receptor (pre-TCR) guides early thymocytes through maturation processes within the thymus via interaction with self-ligands displayed on thymic epithelial cells. The pre-TCR is a disulfide-linked heterodimer composed of an invariant pre-TCR α (pTα) subunit and a variable β subunit, the latter of which is incorporated into the mature TCR in subsequent developmental progression. This interaction of pre-TCR with peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) molecules has recently been shown to drive robust pre-TCR signaling and thymocyte maturation. Although the native sequences of β are properly folded and suitable for NMR studies in isolation, a tendency to self-associate rendered binding studies with physiological ligands difficult to interpret. Consequently, to structural

SUBMITTER: Mallis RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5777251 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature