Residue 81 confers a restricted C-terminal peptide binding motif in HLA-B*44:09

Immunogenetics. 2012 Sep;64(9):663-8. doi: 10.1007/s00251-012-0625-1. Epub 2012 Jun 16.

Abstract

Knowledge about the magnitude of individual polymorphism is a critical part in understanding the complexity of comprehensive mismatching. HLA-B*44:09 differs from the highly frequent HLA-B*44:02 allele by amino acid exchanges at residues 77, 80, 81, 82 and 83. We aimed to identify the magnitude of these mismatches on the features of HLA-B*44:09 bound peptides since residues 77, 80 and 81 comprise part of the F pocket which determines sequence specificity at the pΩ position of the peptide. Using soluble HLA technology we determined >200 individual (nonduplicate) self-peptides from HLA-B*44:09 and compared their features with that of the published peptide features of HLA-B*44:02. Both alleles illustrate an anchor motif of E at p2. In contrast to the C-terminal peptide binding motif of B*44:02 (W, F, Y or L), B*44:09-derived peptides are restricted predominantly to L or F. The source of peptides for both alleles is identical (LCL 721.221 cells) allowing us to identify 23 shared peptides. The majority of these peptides however contained the restricted B*44:09 anchor motif of F or L at the pΩ position. Molecular modelling based on the B*44:02 structure highlights that the differences of the C-terminal peptide anchor between both alleles can be explained primarily by the B*44:02(81Ala) > B*44:09(81Leu) polymorphism which restricts the size of the amino acid that can be accommodated in the F pocket of B*44:09. These results highlight that every amino acid substitution has an impact of certain magnitude on the alleles function and demonstrate how surrounding residues orchestrate peptide specificity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Motifs*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Amino Acids / chemistry
  • Amino Acids / genetics
  • Amino Acids / metabolism*
  • Binding Sites / genetics
  • HEK293 Cells
  • HLA-B44 Antigen / chemistry
  • HLA-B44 Antigen / genetics
  • HLA-B44 Antigen / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Leucine / chemistry
  • Leucine / genetics
  • Leucine / metabolism
  • Models, Molecular
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / genetics
  • Peptides / metabolism*
  • Phenylalanine / chemistry
  • Phenylalanine / genetics
  • Phenylalanine / metabolism
  • Polymorphism, Genetic
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • HLA-B44 Antigen
  • Peptides
  • Phenylalanine
  • Leucine