There are also differences in the way in which the domains interact. The interface between the V and C domains of both T-cell receptor chains is more extensive than in most antibodies. The interaction between the Cα and Cβ domains is distinctive, as it might be assisted by carbohydrates, with a sugar group from the Cα domain making a number of hydrogen bonds to the Cβ domain (see Fig. 4.15b). Finally, a comparison of the variable binding sites shows that, although the CDR loops align fairly closely with those of antibody molecules, there is some relative displacement (see Fig. 4.15c). This is particularly marked in the Vα CDR2 loop, which is oriented at roughly right angles to the equivalent loop in antibody V domains, as a result of a shift in the β strand that anchors one end of the loop from one face of the domain to the other. A strand displacement also causes a change in the orientation of the Vβ CDR2 loop in some Vβ domains. These differences with antibodies influence the ability of the T-cell receptor to recognize their specific ligands, as we will discuss in the next section. In addition to the three hypervariable regions shared with immunoglobulins, the T-cell receptor has a fourth hypervariability region, HV4, in both of its chains (see Fig. 4.15c). These regions occur away from the antigen-binding face of the receptor, and have been implicated in other functions of the TCR, such as superantigen binding, which we will describe in Section 6-14.
4-12 A T-cell receptor recognizes antigen in the form of a complex of a foreign peptide bound to an MHC molecule.
Antigen recognition by T-cell receptors clearly differs from recognition by B-cell receptors and antibodies. The immunoglobulin on B cells binds directly to the intact antigen, and, as discussed in Section 4-8, antibodies typically bind to the surface of protein antigens, contacting amino acids that are discontinuous in the primary structure but are brought together in the folded protein. In contrast, αβ T cells respond to short, continuous amino acid sequences. As we described in Section 1-10, these peptide sequences are often buried within the native structure of the protein. Thus, antigens cannot be recognized directly by T-cell receptors unless the protein is unfolded and processed into peptide fragments (Fig. 4.16), and then presented by an MHC molecule (see Fig. 1.15). We will return to the issue of how this process occurs in Chapter 6.
The nature of the antigen recognized by T cells became clear with the realization that the peptides that stimulate T cells are recognized only when bound to an MHC molecule. The ligand recognized by the T cell is thus a complex of peptide and MHC molecule. The evidence for involvement of the MHC in T-cell recognition of antigen was at first indirect, but it has been proven conclusively by stimulating T cells with purified peptide:MHC complexes. The T-cell receptor interacts with this ligand by making contacts with both the MHC molecule and the antigen peptide.
4-13 There are two classes of MHC molecules with distinct subunit compositions but similar three-dimensional structures.
There are two classes of MHC molecules—MHC class I and MHC class II—and they differ in both their structure and their expression pattern in the tissues of the body. As shown in Figs. 4.17 and 4.18, MHC class I and MHC class II molecules are closely related in overall structure but differ in their subunit composition. In both classes, the two paired protein domains nearest to the membrane resemble immunoglobulin domains, whereas the two domains furthest away from the membrane fold together to create a long cleft, or groove, which is the site at which a peptide binds. Purified peptide:MHC class I and peptide:MHC class II complexes have been characterized structurally, allowing us to describe in detail both the MHC molecules themselves and the way in which they bind peptides.