A peptide filtering relation quantifies MHC class I peptide optimization.

Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I molecules enable cytotoxic T lymphocytes to destroy virus-infected or cancerous cells, thereby preventing disease progression. MHC class I molecules provide a snapshot of the contents of a cell by binding to protein fragments arising from intracellular protein turnover and presenting these fragments at the cell surface. Competing fragments (peptides) are selected for cell-surface presentation on the basis of their ability to form a stable complex with MHC class I, by a process known as peptide optimization. A better understanding of the optimization process is important for our understanding of immunodominance, the predominance of some T lymphocyte specificities over others, which can determine the efficacy of an immune response, the danger of immune evasion, and the success of vaccination strategies. In this paper we present a dynamical systems model of peptide optimization by MHC class I. We incorporate the chaperone molecule tapasin, which has been shown to enhance peptide optimization to different extents for different MHC class I alleles. Using a combination of published and novel experimental data to parameterize the model, we arrive at a relation of peptide filtering, which quantifies peptide optimization as a function of peptide supply and peptide unbinding rates. From this relation, we find that tapasin enhances peptide unbinding to improve peptide optimization without significantly delaying the transit of MHC to the cell surface, and differences in peptide optimization across MHC class I alleles can be explained by allele-specific differences in peptide binding. Importantly, our filtering relation may be used to dynamically predict the cell surface abundance of any number of competing peptides by MHC class I alleles, providing a quantitative basis to investigate viral infection or disease at the cellular level. We exemplify this by simulating optimization of the distribution of peptides derived from Human Immunodeficiency Virus Gag-Pol polyprotein.

Synthesis and in vivo evaluation of 4-deoxy-4,4-difluoro-KRN7000.

The synthesis of 4-deoxy-4,4-difluoro-KRN7000 starting from phytosphingosine is described. Key steps include a regioselective benzylation of azidophytosphingosine and a deoxofluor-mediated fluorination of the corresponding 4-ketone. This fluorination failed completely when the adjacent 3-OH was protected as benzyl ether but proceeded well when a benzoyl group was used. The biological evaluation reveals a bias toward Th1 cytokine induction upon Natural Killer T cell activation.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of alpha-GalCer epimers.

alpha-GalCer (also known as KRN7000) is an immunomodulatory glycolipid that is known to potently activate invariant natural killer T (NKT) cells upon CD1d-mediated stimulation. Because Th1 and Th2 cytokines, which are released after alpha-GalCer presentation, antagonize each other's effects, alpha-GalCer analogues that induce a biased Th1/Th2 response are highly awaited. In this context, we report the synthesis and in vitro evaluation of alpha-Gal-D-xylo-Cer and two alpha-Gal-L-lyxo-Cer analogues, one with the natural acyl chain, the other with a truncated chain.

Intramolecular DNA quadruplexes with different arrangements of short and long loops.

We have examined the folding, stability and kinetics of intramolecular quadruplexes formed by DNA sequences containing four G3 tracts separated by either single T or T4 loops. All these sequences fold to form intramolecular quadruplexes and 1D-NMR spectra suggest that they each adopt unique structures (with the exception of the sequence with all three loops containing T4, which is polymorphic). The stability increases with the number of single T loops, though the arrangement of different length loops has little effect. In the presence of potassium ions, the oligonucleotides that contain at least one single T loop exhibit similar CD spectra, which are indicative of a parallel topology. In contrast, when all three loops are substituted with T4 the CD spectrum is typical of an antiparallel arrangement. In the presence of sodium ions, the sequences with two and three single T loops also adopt a parallel folded structure. Kinetic studies on the complexes with one or two T4 loops in the presence of potassium ions reveal that sequences with longer loops display slower folding rates.

The solution and crystal structures of a module pair from the Staphylococcus aureus-binding site of human fibronectin--a tale with a twist.

An important goal of structural studies of modular proteins is to determine the inter-module orientation, which often influences biological function. The N-terminal domain of human fibronectin (Fn) is composed of a string of five type 1 modules (F1). Despite their small size, to date F1 modules have proved intractable to X-ray structure solution, although there are several NMR structures available. Here, we present the first structures (two X-ray models and an NMR-derived model) of the (2)F1(3)F1 module pair, which forms part of the binding site for Fn-binding proteins from pathogenic bacteria. The crystallographic structure determination was aided by the novel technique of UV radiation damage-induced phasing. The individual module structures are very similar in all three models. In the NMR structure and one of the X-ray structures, a similar but smaller interdomain interface than that observed previously for (4)F1(5)F1 is seen. The other X-ray structure has a different interdomain orientation. This work underlines the benefits of combining X-ray and NMR data in the studies of multi-domain proteins.

Structural insight into binding of Staphylococcus aureus to human fibronectin.

Staphylococcus aureus possesses cell-wall attached proteins that bind the human protein fibronectin (Fn). An intermodule interface between the 4F1 and 5F1 modules in the N-terminal domain of Fn is maintained on bacterial peptide binding but there is a small change in the intermodule orientation and alignment of beta-strands that are predicted to bind the peptide. The module pair is elongated, as in the unbound state. Combined with evidence that residues in both 4F1 and 5F1 are directly involved in peptide binding, this observation supports the hypothesis that, when bound to intact Fn, the bacterial protein adopts an unusual, highly extended conformation.