Molecular flexibility can influence the stimulatory ability of receptor-ligand interactions at cell-cell junctions.

ABSTRACT: Direct cell-cell communication is crucial for many processes in biology, particularly embryogenesis, interactions between hematopoetic cells, and in the nervous system. This communication is often mediated by the binding of receptors to cognate ligands at a cell-cell junction. One such interaction that is very important for the development of many immune responses is the binding of the alphabeta T cell receptor for antigen (TCR) on T lymphocytes with peptide-MHC complexes on other cells. In general, the stability (e.g., half-life) of TCR-peptide-MHC binding measured in solution correlates with functional responses. Several anomalies have been reported, however. For example, for some anomalous ligands, large changes in heat capacity can apparently substitute for a lack of stability in TCR-l

SUBMITTER: Qi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1450186 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature