Cutting edge: dueling TCRs: peptide antagonism of CD4+ T cells with dual antigen specificities.

Cutting Edge: Dueling TCRs: Peptide

In the normal repertoire of CD4+ T cells, a single class II MHC/peptide complex positively selects TCRs with various antigen specificities.

In the thymus, immature T cells are positively and negatively selected by multiple interactions between their Ag receptors (TCRs) and self MHC/peptide complexes expressed on thymic stromal cells. Here we show that in the milieu of negative selection on physiological self class II MHC/peptide complexes (Abwt), a single class II/peptide complex AbEp52-68 positively selects a number of TCRs with v...

Human Leukocyte Antigen-G Expression on Dendritic Cells Induced by Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and CD4+ T Cells Proliferation

Background: During antigen capture and processing, mature dendritic cells (DC) express large amounts of peptide-MHC complexes and accessory molecules on their surface. DC are antigen-presenting cells that have an important role in tolerance and autoimmunity. The transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) cytokine has a regulatory role on the immune and non-immune cells. The aim of this study is ...

Nonself-antigens are the cognate specificities of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells.

The majority of regulatory Foxp3+CD4+ T cells naturally arises in the thymus. It has been proposed that T cell receptors (TCRs) on these cells recognize self-MHC class II-peptide complexes with high or higher affinity and that their specificities mirror specificities of autoreactive T cells. Here, we analyzed hundreds of TCRs derived from regulatory or nonregulatory T cells and found little evi...

Single and dual amino acid substitutions in TCR CDRs can enhance antigen-specific T cell functions.

Single and dual amino acid substitution variants were generated in the TCR CDRs of three TCRs that recognize tumor-associated Ags. Substitutions that enhance the reactivity of TCR gene-modified T cells to the cognate Ag complex were identified using a rapid RNA-based transfection system. The screening of a panel of variants of the 1G4 TCR, that recognizes a peptide corresponding to amino acid r...