Biomedical subjects

F Triebel

Publications and source records attributed to F Triebel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

LAP, a lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3)-associated protein that binds to a repeated EP motif in the intracellular region of LAG-3, may participate in the down-regulation of the CD3/TCR activation pathway.

The threshold, extent and termination of TCR activation is controlled in part by inhibitory co-receptors expressed on activated T cells. The lymphocyte activation gene product (LAG-3), a ligand for MHC class II molecules co-caps with the CD3/TCR complex and inhibits cell proliferation and cytokine secretion in response to CD3 signaling. We first investigated whether LAG-3 is localized in activated T cells in detergent-resistant membrane rafts enriched in glycosphingolipids and cholesterol. We showed that both LAG-3 and MHC class II are present in the cell fraction of glycosphingolipid-rich complexes (GSL complexes) before the assembly of the immunological synapse by CD3/TCR complex cross-linking. Using the LAG-3 intracytoplasmic region as bait in the yeast two-hybrid cloning system, we next identified a novel protein termed LAP for LAG-3-associated protein. LAP is encoded by a 1.8-kb RNA message in lymphocytes and encodes a 45-kDa protein that is expressed in most tissues. We showed that LAP binds specifically in vitro and in vivo to the Glu-Pro (EP) repeated motif present in the LAG-3 intracytoplasmic region. LAP also binds to the EP motif of another functionally important receptor, the PDGFR. Thus, LAP is a candidate molecule for a new type of signal transduction and/or coupling of clustered rafts to the microtubule networks that could explain how negative signaling of co-receptors may occur through molecules devoid of any immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif consensus sequence.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

PubMed2001

KIR down-regulation on NK cells is associated with down-regulation of activating receptors and NK cell inactivation.

We previously reported that killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) could be down-regulated from the surface of T cells. Here, we show that KIR down-regulation is also induced on the surface of natural killer (NK) cells upon ligand binding. Common down-regulation characteristics are found on these two cell types: a slow kinetics and a phenomenon observed for long inhibitory forms only. Importantly, KIR down-regulation on NK cells is associated with a down-regulation of activating receptors (CD16, CD2 and 2B4) as well as with a lack of cell responsiveness (antibody-dependent and natural killing activities). This unresponsive state was not observed for MHC-restricted T cells. Our data implicate that, in addition to prevention of the immediate target cell lysis, KIR-MHC class I interactions may also regulate the subsequent NK cell cytotoxic activity. This observation opens new perspectives in the understanding of NK cell regulation.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

A combination of interleukin-2 and 60 nm cationic supramolecular biovectors for the treatment of established tumours by subcutaneous or intranasal administration.

The Supramolecular Biovector (SMBV) KY is a drug delivery nanocarrier which consists of a discretely sized, ionically charged, cross-linked polysaccharide core surrounded by a lipid membrane. We used the non-immunogenic spontaneous mammary adenocarcinoma TS/A tumour to test the efficacy on tumour growth of low (10(4) IU) or ultra-low (10(3) IU) doses of interleukin-2 (IL-2) adsorbed to these 60 nm cationic synthetic particles. In comparison with the progressive growth of TS/A cells in syngeneic mice, KY/IL-2 particles coinjected with TS/A cells or administered at a distance from the tumour, inhibited tumour growth while free IL-2, even at 10-100 times the dose used in the KY/IL-2 formulations, had no effect. Studies performed on implanted tumours (treatment at day 6 (D6)) showed that KY/IL-2 administered subcutaneously (s.c.) at five sites distant from the tumour (10(3) IL-2 IU per site) induced rejection of the implanted tumours. Six out of 10 mice were cured while the other four had residual tumours only. In the same experiment, free IL-2 induced only tumoral growth reduction. Protection induced by KY/IL-2 administered s.c. at five sites involved recruitment of a CD8(+) T cell response since nu/nu mice and CD8-depleted mice did not reject the tumours. Mice cured were protected significantly to completely against a rechallenge with TS/A tumour cells, and a systemic tumour-specific CTL activity was induced. Finally, we showed that repeated intranasal (i.n.) administration of KY/IL-2 (low-dose) also led to complete regression of pre-established tumours and partial protection from tumour rechallenge. We therefore suggest that, in contrast to free IL-2, a KY/IL-2 formulation could be used as a systemic immunostimulant leading to the eradication of non-immunogenic, established tumours.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2001

T Lymphocytes infiltrating various tumour types express the MHC class II ligand lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3): role of LAG-3/MHC class II interactions in cell-cell contacts.

The product of the Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 (LAG-3, CD223) is a high affinity MHC class II ligand expressed by activated CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, which can associate with the T cell receptor (TCR) and downregulate TCR signalling in vitro. We have also reported that a soluble mLAG-3Ig fusion protein works as a vaccine adjuvant in vivo in mice, enhancing Th1 and CD8 T cell responses. Here, we report that LAG-3 expression was found, using fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis, on 11-48% of human tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) isolated from eight freshly dissociated renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), and was restricted mostly to CD8(+) cells. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed LAG-3 expression by TILs in 9/11 RCCs, as well as in tumours of different origins, such as melanomas (3/5) and lymphomas (7/7). Since not only antigen presenting cells (APCs), but also TILs themselves strongly express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, we firstly investigated whether LAG-3/MHC class II T-T cell contacts might influence tumour cell recognition. However, cytotoxicity inhibition was not observed in two RCC-specific CD8(+) T cell clones in the presence of the LAG-3-specific MAb, and there was also no observed difference in the recognition of LAG-3-transfected or wild-type RCC by these cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). In contrast, MHC class II engagement by LAG-3Ig was found to enhance the capacity of immature dendritic cells to stimulate naive T cell proliferation and IL-12-dependent IFN-gamma production by T cells in vitro. These results therefore provide support for a role for TIL-expressed LAG-3 in the engagement of class II molecules on APCs, thereby contributing to APC activation and Th1/Tc1 commitment, without downregulating cytotoxicity.

Antigens, CD↗

PubMed2000

A soluble lymphocyte activation gene-3 molecule used as a vaccine adjuvant elicits greater humoral and cellular immune responses to both particulate and soluble antigens.

The lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) product is a MHC class II ligand that has been used in vivo to stimulate MHC class II+ APCs to increase tumor-specific immune responses. We investigated whether LAG-3 could also play an adjuvant role in vivo for the induction of humoral and CD4 or CD8 cell-mediated immune responses when immunizing mice with a particulate (hepatitis B surface Ag) or soluble (OVA) Ag. In both cases, coadministration of 1 microg of a soluble fusion protein between murine LAG-3 and the Fc fraction of a murine IgG2a mAb (mLAG-3Ig) as a vaccine adjuvant induced or increased CTL responses to the corresponding MHC class I-restricted peptide. In addition, splenocytes of mice vaccinated with either the particulate or soluble Ag plus mLAG-3Ig exhibited a significantly greater proliferative response than did splenocytes of mice immunized with Ag and a control Ig molecule. Similarly, these splenocytes had a greater Th1- but not Th2-type cytokine response. Finally, mice immunized with Ag plus mLAG-3Ig produced higher titers of Abs than mice immunized with Ag and a control Ig molecule. Thus, these data provide evidence of a novel means of improving the immunogenicity of subunit vaccines.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

PubMed1999

A non-AUG-defined alternative open reading frame of the intestinal carboxyl esterase mRNA generates an epitope recognized by renal cell carcinoma-reactive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in situ.

A number of Ags recognized by tumor-reactive T cells have been characterized, including nonmutated gene products and a variety of epitopes shown to arise from either mutated or alternatively processed transcripts. Here, we report that the screening of a cDNA library with an HLA-B7-restricted renal cell carcinoma-reactive T cell clone derived from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) that were clonally amplified in vivo (as assessed by TCRBV complementarity determining region-3 length distribution analysis) resulted in the isolation of a nonamer encoded by an alternative open reading frame (ORF) (a +1 frameshift) of the intestinal carboxyl esterase gene. This peptide binds HLA-B*0702-presenting molecules as assessed in an immunofluorescence-based peptide binding assay using transfected T2 cells. Constitutive expression of this alternative ORF protein was observed in all transformed HLA-B7+ renal cell lines that were recognized in cytotoxicity assays by the TILs. The intestinal carboxyl esterase gene is transcribed in renal cell carcinoma tumors as well as in normal liver, intestinal, or renal tissues. Mutation of the natural ATG translation initiation site did not alter recognition, indicating that frameshifting (i.e., slippage of the ribosome forward) and recoding are not involved. In addition, a point mutation of the three AUG codons that may be used as alternative translation initiation sites in the +1 ORF did not abolish recognition, whereas mutation of an upstream ACG codon did, indicating that the latter codon initiates the translation of the alternative ORF. These results further extend the types of Ags that can be recognized by tumor-reactive TILs in situ (i.e., leading to clonal T cell expansion).

Alternative Splicing↗

PubMed1999

Lymphocyte activation gene-3, a MHC class II ligand expressed on activated T cells, stimulates TNF-alpha and IL-12 production by monocytes and dendritic cells.

Lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) is an MHC class II ligand structurally and genetically related to CD4. Although its expression is restricted to activated T cells and NK cells, the functions of LAG-3 remain to be elucidated. Here, we report on the expression and function of LAG-3 on proinflammatory bystander T cells that are activated in the absence of TCR engagement. LAG-3 is expressed at high levels on human T cells cocultured with autologous monocytes and IL-2 and synergizes with the low levels of CD40 ligand (CD40L) expressed on these cells to trigger TNF-alpha and IL-12 production by monocytes. Indeed, anti-LAG-3 mAb inhibits both IL-12 and IFN-gamma production in IL-2-stimulated cocultures of T cells and autologous monocytes. Soluble LAG-3Ig fusion protein markedly enhances IL-12 production by monocytes stimulated with infra-optimal concentrations of sCD40L, whereas it directly stimulates monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) for the production of TNF-alpha and IL-12, unravelling an enhanced responsiveness to MHC class II engagemenent in DC as compared with activated monocytes. Thus similar to CD40L, LAG-3 may be involved in the proinflammatory activity of cytokine-activated bystander T cells and most importantly it may directly activate DC.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

A hsp70-2 mutation recognized by CTL on a human renal cell carcinoma.

We performed T cell cloning experiments with a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte subpopulation derived from a renal cell carcinoma tumor site (RCC-7) in which the TCR clonotypic repertoire had been analyzed in terms of TCRBV complementarity-determining region 3 size distribution. We report in this work the characterization of one of the five RCC-specific MHC class I-restricted CTL clones isolated in RCC-7. This TCRBV6J1S1 CTL recognized only the autologous RCC-7 tumor cell line in the context of HLA-A*0201, and the Ag is encoded by a mutated form of the hsp70-2 gene found in the tumor cells, but not in autologous PBLs nor in 47 other tumors. The identification of this gene was achieved by cotransfecting into COS cells a cDNA library of RCC-7 together with HLA-A*0201. Transfectants expressing the Ag were identified by their ability to stimulate TNF release by the CTL clone. The antigenic peptide is a decamer with a mutated residue at position 8. Half-maximal lysis was obtained with only 5 x 10(-11) M of decapeptide in target sensitization assays compared with 5 x 10(-8) M for the wild-type decapeptide. This difference in recognition was not related to difference in binding HLA-A*0201-presenting molecules, as assessed in an immunofluorescence-based peptide-binding assay using T2 cells. Constitutive hsp70 expression in various tumors suggests that this stress-induced protein may be recognized in situ by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. The finding in the tumor of a mutated form of the stress-induced hsp70-2 gene whose product is specifically recognized by TILs with high avidity is discussed in view of the present use of mycobacteria or heterologous heat-shock proteins as immunomodulators or as subunit vaccine candidates.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Lymphocyte activation gene-3 induces tumor regression and antitumor immune responses.

The lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) product is an MHC class II ligand related to CD4. We investigated whether LAG-3 could be used in vivo to stimulate MHC class II(+) antigen-presenting cells (APC), such as resident macrophages or dendritic cells known to play a crucial role in processing and presenting of antigens to the immune system. We first introduced human (h) LAG-3 or mouse LAG-3 into three types of tumor cells (MCA 205, TS / A and RENCA) to evaluate its capacity to stimulate a tumor-specific immune response in vivo. In contrast to the progressive growth of wild-type cells in syngeneic mice, LAG-3-transfected tumors completely regressed or their growth was markedly reduced. Mice were significantly to completely protected against a rechallenge with parental tumor cells. Protection induced by hLAG-3(+) tumor cells involved recruitment of a CD8(+) T cell response since nu / nu mice and CD8-depleted mice did not reject tumors, and a systemic tumor-specific CTL activity was induced. Co-administration of soluble LAG-3 with wild-type tumor cells also markedly reduced primary tumor growth. Interestingly, immunization with LAG-3(+) tumor cells or co-administration of soluble LAG-3 with irradiated wild-type tumor cells reduced the growth of pre-established tumors. We therefore suggest that LAG-3 could be used as a vaccine adjuvant for its ability to trigger APC via MHC class II molecules.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

The MHC class II ligand lymphocyte activation gene-3 is co-distributed with CD8 and CD3-TCR molecules after their engagement by mAb or peptide-MHC class I complexes.

Previous studies indicated that signaling through lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3), a MHC class II ligand, induced by multivalent anti-receptor antibodies led to unresponsiveness to TCR stimulation. Here, lateral distribution of the LAG-3 molecules and its topological relationship (mutual proximity) to the TCR, CD8, CD4, and MHC class I and II molecules were studied in the plasma membrane of activated human T cells in co-capping experiments and conventional fluorescence microscopy. Following TCR engagement by either TCR-specific mAb or MHC-peptide complex recognition in T-B cell conjugates, LAG-3 was found to be specifically associated with the CD3-TCR complex. Similarly, following CD8 engagement LAG-3 and CD8 were co-distributed on the cell surface while only a low percentage of CD4-capped cells displayed LAG-3 co-caps. In addition, LAG-3 was found to be associated with MHC class II (i.e. DR, DP and DQ) and partially with MHC class I molecules. The supramolecular assemblies described here between LAG-3, CD3, CD8 and MHC class II molecules may result from an organization in raft microdomains, a phenomenon known to regulate early events of T cell activation.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Human renal cell carcinoma xenografts in SCID mice: tumorigenicity correlates with a poor clinical prognosis.

To establish human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) xenografts for preclinical studies, 55 renal tumors (33 primary and 22 metastatic lesions) were transplanted subcutaneously into severe combined immunodeficient mice. Twenty of 49 evaluable tumors (40.8%) grew with a median latency period of 89 days (36 to 209 days) from the day of engraftment. Tumor growth was stabilized after the fifth passage with a median time between passages of 38 days (19 to 80 days). Tumorigenicity was correlated with the metastatic phenotype of the tumor (54% success rate, p = 0.007) and with reduced survival of patients. Despite a possible evolution of histological features and tumor grading, established RCC xenografts were comparable to parental tumors, as assessed by karyotype and DNA-ploidy analyses. Molecular cytogenetic analysis also revealed specific genetic alterations characterizing distinct RCC types that were constant in parental and corresponding xenografts. In addition, this xenograft model has permitted the selection of minor tumor subclones with a proliferative advantage and minimal overexpressed chromosomal regions. We conclude that severe combined immunodeficient mice are useful recipients for the establishment of long-term RCC xenografts that can be used as valuable tools to evaluate the activity of new therapeutic approaches and to study biological parameters determining in vivo aggressiveness of human RCC.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

CD3/TCR complex-associated lymphocyte activation gene-3 molecules inhibit CD3/TCR signaling.

The lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) molecule is a T cell activation Ag closely related to CD4 at the gene and protein levels. We investigated whether LAG-3 itself may down-regulate the immune response by interfering with TCR signaling. The binding of Ab to the LAG-3 molecule followed by cross-linking (XL) inhibits cell proliferation and cytokine secretion in response to CD3XL on activated T cells. LAG-3XL-induced down-regulation is associated with functional unresponsiveness, as well as with high CD25 expression levels and reversion by exogenous IL-2. It is also associated with a down-modulation of CD3/TCR complex expression. At the biochemical level, LAG-3XL inhibits calcium response to CD3 stimulation. This inhibition is observed with different LAG-3- and CD3-specific mAbs on condition that the two receptors are cross-linked together. Finally, the capping of CD3 was shown to induce cocapping of LAG-3 molecules. Together, these results show that CD3/TCR complex-associated LAG-3 molecules can play an active role in negatively regulating the CD3/TCR activation pathway. They ultimately suggest that LAG-3 is an inhibitory receptor in activated T lymphocytes.

Antigens, CD↗

PubMed1998

Regulation of expression of the human lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) molecule, a ligand for MHC class II.

The lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3), a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II ligand evolutionarily related to CD4, is expressed exclusively in activated T and NK lymphocytes and seems to play a role in regulating the evolving immune response. We first determined that surface LAG-3 expression on activated human T cells is upregulated by certain cytokines (IL-2, IL-7, IL-12) and not by others (IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-alpha, TNF-beta, IFN-gamma). Surface LAG-3 expression correlated with intracellular IFN-gamma production in both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets. We then analyzed the 5' transcription control sequences of LAG-3. A DNase I hypersensitive site induced in T cells following cellular activation was found in the region including the transcriptional start site, showing that DNA accessibility is a mechanism which restricts LAG-3 expression to activated T cells. Transcription is initiated at three sites. A GC box, 80 base pairs (bp) upstream of the major transcription start site, forms a minimal promoter which is regulated by two upstream regions containing positive and negative regulatory elements with multiple protein binding sites as shown by footprinting analysis. In particular, a GATA/c-Ets motive was identified in a short segment homologous to the mouse CD4 distal enhancer, suggesting that LAG-3, which is embedded in the CD4 locus, may be controlled by some CD4 regulatory elements. Finally, a 100 bp region downstream of the transcription start site was shown to be involved in the cell-specific control of LAG-3 expression. Understanding this highly regulated expression may help to determine the intriguing role of this activation-induced MHC class II ligand.

Antigens, CD↗

PubMed1998

LAG-3 does not define a specific mode of natural killing in human.

LAG-3 is a gene localized on the band p13 of human chromosome 12, close to the NK gene complex (NKC), expressed on activated NK cells and encoding a receptor for MHC class II molecules. Recently, LAG-3 has been proposed to define a specific mode of natural killing in mice. The putative role of LAG-3 on human natural killer cytotoxicity has been examined with specific monoclonal antibodies and a recombinant soluble form of LAG-3. Neither the antibodies, which are able to block the interaction with the ligand, nor the recombinant product, which has retained its binding capacity for MHC class II, had an effect on the natural killing of various target cells. Furthermore, in redirected killing assays, none of these antibodies were able to modulate either positively or negatively the cytotoxicity. Taken together, these data show that LAG-3 has no transducing activity involved in NK cytotoxicity, ruling out the existence of a specific mode of natural killing defined by this molecule in humans.

Antigens, CD↗

PubMed1998

T-cell clonal expansion in patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders.

We investigated whether T-cell clonal expansion could be found in the blood of 14 untreated patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders [5 B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 4 myelomas, 5 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)]. The putative presence of T-cell clonotypes was analyzed with a polymerase chain reaction-based method determining V-D-J junction size patterns in 24 T-cell receptor (TCR) V beta subfamilies. This high-resolution method, analyzing CDR3 sizes of TCR transcripts, was used in conjunction with cytometric analysis of the corresponding T-cell subpopulations with 18 TCR V beta-specific monoclonal antibody. We found multiple dominant T-cell clonotypes in the blood of most patients with B-CLL or myeloma as well of a patient with stage IV NHL. In some cases, T-cell clonal expansion was so dominant that the percentage of these clonal T-cell subpopulations in blood represented more than the mean +2 SD value determined in a series of healthy controls. We conclude that a systemic antigen-specific (i.e., leading to clonotypic expansion) immune reaction involving few TCR clonotypes is a hallmark of disseminated B-cell malignancies. The nature of the putative antigens recognized is not known presently. Nonetheless, such insights into the T-cell repertoire of these patients may help to reassess the potential of immunotherapeutic strategies in B-cell malignancies.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Analysis of T-cell immune response in renal cell carcinoma: polarization to type 1-like differentiation pattern, clonal T-cell expansion and tumor-specific cytotoxicity.

We assessed the naturally occurring T-cell immune response in primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumors from 12 unselected patients. A predominance of CD3+ T-cell receptor (TCR)alpha/beta+ T cells was observed in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), in contrast with peripheral blood lymphopenia found in some patients. Activation antigen expression on TILs revealed an imbalance in the activation status, with a significant percentage of CD69+ and HLA-DR+ and a low percentage of CD25+ and CD71+ TILs. The lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) was detected in some TIL subpopulations and especially in one patient in whom TILs were predominantly TCR alpha/beta+CD8+DR+LAG-3+. In addition, we found that RCC TILs are polarized to a global type 1-like (Th1/Tc1) differentiation pattern (strong secretion of interferon-gamma and interleukin-2 (IL-2) following CD3/TCR crosslinking) but are under the influence of the down-modulatory cytokines IL-6 (secreted by tumor cells) and IL-10, within the tumor microenvironment. In 3 of 5 patients, clonal T-cell expansion at the tumor site was found for several Vbeta specificities, suggesting that in situ stimulation of specific clonotypes in response to potential tumor antigens is a frequent event in RCC. Furthermore, in one patient, selective intratumor amplification of a Vbeta1 subpopulation (5% of TCR alpha/beta+ cells) corresponding to 2 distinct Vbeta1-Jbeta1.6 and Vbeta1-Jbeta2.3 tumor-specific MHC class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes supports the view that discrete T-cell subsets contribute readily to in situ immunosurveillance.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

T-cell receptor CDR3 size distribution analysis to evaluate specific T-cell response to cancer vaccines.

To evaluate immunization procedures in cancer patients, it is important to define which biological parameters reflecting a specific immune response to the vaccine should be followed. One of these may be the recruitment or expansion of clonally amplified T-cell subpopulations previously primed by tumor-specific antigen that could be detected in tiny samples by CDR3 length analysis of T-cell receptor Vbeta transcripts. To evaluate this procedure, we studied one patient with metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma who had received 4 intradermal injections of irradiated autologous tumor cells plus IL-2 on days 1, 8, 15 and 36. Skin tests for delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction to irradiated autologous tumor cells were performed on days 1 and 43. Although no change was observed in day 43 PBMCs, some recurrent transcripts were detected with similar CDR3 size patterns in both vaccine and DTH sites. Fine analysis of these Vbeta-Cbeta PCR products with Jbeta primers confirmed that transcripts with similar length were recruited in both vaccine and DTH sites. Induction of an inflammatory response in both DTH and vaccine sites may therefore be associated with the recruitment of few T-cell clonotypes. In addition, a Vbeta15-Jbeta2.5 transcript similar to those detected in vaccine and DTH sites was also identified in enzymatically dissociated tumor cells and in a tumor fragment. Sequencing confirmed that an identical junctional sequence was shared by Vbeta15-Jbeta2.5 transcripts from both DTH and tumor samples. Our results indicate that a T-cell clone similar to the one amplified in the tumor was recruited at the vaccine and DTH reaction sites. We therefore suggest that such an approach would be useful in assessing specific expansion of T-cell clones induced by cancer vaccines.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1997

Characterization of the major histocompatibility complex class II binding site on LAG-3 protein.

The lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3), selectively transcribed in human activated T and NK cells, encodes a ligand for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules. Like CD4, LAG-3 ectodomain is composed of four Ig-like domains (D1-D4). Nothing is known about the LAG-3 regions or residues required to form a stable MHC class II binding site. In contrast to CD4, soluble LAG-3 molecules stably interact with MHC class II molecules expressed on the cell surface. In addition, the first two N-terminal domains of soluble LAG-3 (D1 and D2) molecules, alone, are capable of binding MHC class II. From a LAG-3 model structure, we designed mutants and tested their ability to bind MHC class II molecules in an intercellular adhesion assay. We found residues on the membrane-distal, CDR1-2-containing top face of D1 that are essential for either binding or repulsing MHC class II proteins. Most of these residues are clustered at the base of a large extra-loop structure that is a hallmark of the LAG-3 D1 Ig-like domain. In addition, as for CD4, oligomerization of LAG-3 on the cell surface may be required to form a stable MHC binding site because mutation of three residues in the ABED beta-strands containing side of D1 results in a dominant negative effect (i.e., binding inhibition of coexpressed wild-type LAG-3).

Amino Acid Sequence↗