The crystal structure of a T cell receptor in complex with peptide and MHC class II.
Reinherz, E.L., Tan, K., Tang, L., Kern, P., Liu, J., Xiong, Y., Hussey, R.E., Smolyar, A., Hare, B., Zhang, R., Joachimiak, A., Chang, H.C., Wagner, G., Wang, J.(1999) Science 286: 1913-1921
- PubMed: 10583947 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5446.1913
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1D9K - PubMed Abstract: 
The crystal structure of a complex involving the D10 T cell receptor (TCR), 16-residue foreign peptide antigen, and the I-Ak self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecule is reported at 3.2 angstrom resolution. The D10 TCR is oriented in an orthogonal mode relative to its peptide-MHC (pMHC) ligand, necessitated by the amino-terminal extension of peptide residues projecting from the MHC class II antigen-binding groove as part of a mini beta sheet. Consequently, the disposition of D10 complementarity-determining region loops is altered relative to that of most pMHCI-specific TCRs; the latter TCRs assume a diagonal orientation, although with substantial variability. Peptide recognition, which involves P-1 to P8 residues, is dominated by the Valpha domain, which also binds to the class II MHC beta1 helix. That docking is limited to one segment of MHC-bound peptide offers an explanation for epitope recognition and altered peptide ligand effects, suggests a structural basis for alloreactivity, and illustrates how bacterial superantigens can span the TCR-pMHCII surface.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Laboratory of Immunobiology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.