de Lalla C, Sturniolo T, Abbruzzese L, Hammer J, Sidoli A, Sinigaglia F, Panina-Bordignon P
DIBIT, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
J Immunol. 1999 Aug 15;163(4):1725-9.
Although atopic allergy affects </=20% of the total population, the relationship between the protein structure and immunogenic activity of the allergens is still largely unknown. We observed that group 5 grass allergens are characterized by repeated structural motifs. Using a new algorithm, TEPITOPE, we predicted promiscuous HLA-DR ligands within the repeated motifs of the Lol p5a allergen from rye grass. In vitro binding studies confirmed the promiscuous binding characteristics of these peptides. Moreover, most of the predicted ligands were novel T cell epitopes that were able to stimulate T cells from atopic patients. We generated a panel of Lol p5a-specific T cell clones, the majority of which recognized the peptides in a cross-reactive fashion. The computational prediction of DR ligands might thus allow the design of T cell epitopes with potential useful application in novel immunotherapy strategies.
尽管特应性过敏影响的人群占总人口的比例≤20%，但变应原的蛋白质结构与免疫原活性之间的关系仍很大程度上未知。我们观察到5组禾本科变应原具有重复的结构基序。使用一种新算法TEPITOPE，我们在黑麦草Lol p5a变应原的重复基序内预测了多反应性HLA - DR配体。体外结合研究证实了这些肽的多反应性结合特性。此外，大多数预测的配体是能够刺激特应性患者T细胞的新型T细胞表位。我们生成了一组Lol p5a特异性T细胞克隆，其中大多数以交叉反应的方式识别这些肽。因此，DR配体的计算预测可能有助于设计在新型免疫治疗策略中具有潜在有用应用的T细胞表位。
