To get further insight into the role of three polymorphic DR residues located in one alpha-helix of the HLA-DR binding groove, we studied how natural substitutions at positions 67, 71, and 86 on DR11 molecules influence MHC binding and/or T cell recognition of peptide HA306-320 and of monosubstituted peptide analogues. Our results show that: 1) Reactivities of all HA306-320-specific T cell clones tested are decreased by DR substitution at position 86 and can even be lowered by additional substitutions at position 71, and at positions 71 plus 67, indicating that these three residues are functionally important. 2) The functional effects of substitutions at positions 67, 71, and/or 86 cannot be explained by a decreased affinity of HA306-320 for the substituted DR11 molecules, as determined in binding assays. 3) More likely, they are explained by modifications of the conformation, orientation, or location of the peptide once bound in the HLA groove, because each individual DR substitution at positions 86, 71, and 67 differentially affects the binding ability of the same panel of 50 monosubstituted analogues. 4) This interpretation is reinforced by the identification of a small set of monosubstituted analogues that can compensate the functional effects of DR substitutions at positions 86, 86 plus 71, or 86 plus 71 plus 67, and thus restore T cell reactivities. All together these results strongly suggest that residues 67, 71, and 86 play a key role in interactions with HA306-320, probably by modifying the way the peptide is bound within the binding groove of HLA-DR11. Using the same DR11.1-restricted clones, we identified putative T cell and DR contact residues of HA306-320 by comparing DR binding and T cell-activating capacity of the peptide analogues. This analysis suggests that: 1) Residues 310, 311, 312, 313, and 316 are putative TCR contacts. 2) Peptide HA306-320 anchors to DR11.1 molecules mainly via residue Y-309, possibly at the vicinity of DR residue 86, whereas peptide residues 315 and 317 constitute minor aggregotopes that would be at the vicinity of DR residues 71 and/or 67. 3) Finally, residues 308, 310, and 314 might also be on the MHC side of the DR-peptide-TCR complex.