The Dynamics of the Human Leukocyte Antigen Head Domain Modulates Its Recognition by the T-Cell Receptor

PLoS One. 2016 Apr 28;11(4):e0154219. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154219. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Generating the immune response requires the discrimination of peptides presented by the human leukocyte antigen complex (HLA) through the T-cell receptor (TCR). However, how a single amino acid substitution in the antigen bonded to HLA affects the response of T cells remains uncertain. Hence, we used molecular dynamics computations to analyze the molecular interactions between peptides, HLA and TCR. We compared immunologically reactive complexes with non-reactive and weakly reactive complexes. MD trajectories were produced to simulate the behavior of isolated components of the various p-HLA-TCR complexes. Analysis of the fluctuations showed that p-HLA binding barely restrains TCR motions, and mainly affects the CDR3 loops. Conversely, inactive p-HLA complexes displayed significant drop in their dynamics when compared with its free versus ternary forms (p-HLA-TCR). In agreement, the free non-reactive p-HLA complexes showed a lower amount of salt bridges than the responsive ones. This resulted in differences between the electrostatic potentials of reactive and inactive p-HLA species and larger vibrational entropies in non-elicitor complexes. Analysis of the ternary p-HLA-TCR complexes also revealed a larger number of salt bridges in the responsive complexes. To summarize, our computations indicate that the affinity of each p-HLA complex towards TCR is intimately linked to both, the dynamics of its free species and its ability to form specific intermolecular salt-bridges in the ternary complexes. Of outstanding interest is the emerging concept of antigen reactivity involving its interplay with the HLA head sidechain dynamics by rearranging its salt-bridges.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antigen Presentation
  • Binding Sites
  • HLA Antigens / chemistry*
  • HLA Antigens / immunology
  • Humans
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation*
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Peptides / immunology
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / chemistry*
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / immunology
  • Static Electricity
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • HLA Antigens
  • Peptides
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell

Grants and funding

Financial support was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness (Grant No. BFU2012-31670/BMC), http://www.mineco.gob.es/portal/site/mineco/idi; The Andalusian Government (Grant PAI, BIO198), http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/organismos/economiayconocimiento.html; The Spanish Fund for Health Research (FIS; code PI11/02366, FI12/00189), http://www.isciii.es/ISCIII/es/contenidos/fd-el-instituto/fd-organizacion/fd-estructura-directiva/fd-subdireccion-general-servicios-aplicados-formacion-investigacion/fd-centros-unidades/fd-investen-isciii-2/investigacion_investen.shtml; and the Ramón Areces Foundation, http://www.fundacionareces.es/fundacionareces/portal.do?IDM=166&NM=2&TR=C&IDR=1350. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.