Molecule of the Month: T-Cell Receptor
Lymphocytes use T-cell receptors to patrol the body for foreign molecules
![T-cell receptor. The portion crossing the cell membrane is not included in the structure, and is shown here schematically.](https://cms.rcsb.org/file-uploads/motm/63/Figure1.jpg)
Virus Patrol
Antibody Arms
T-Cells and AIDS
![Interaction of CD and TCR proteins with MHC.](https://cms.rcsb.org/file-uploads/motm/63/Figure2.jpg)
A Molecular Handshake
Exploring the Structure
Complex of T-cell Receptor with Peptides and MHC I
![](https://cms.rcsb.org/file-uploads/motm/63/Jmol-jmol.jpg)
Several structures are available that show the interaction of T-cell receptors with an MHC-peptide complex. Two early structures, from PDB entries 1bd2 and 2ckb, are shown here, from studies that explored the strong binding of T-cell receptor to a viral peptide and weaker binding to a self-antigen peptide from a normal cell protein. The T-cell receptor is at the top, MHC is at the bottom, and the peptide is shown with spacefilling spheres in red and magenta the middle. The T-cell receptor interacts with the peptide and with the upper face of the MHC protein. Click on the image to explore these structures in an interactive JSmol.
Related PDB-101 Resources
- Browse Immune System
- Browse HIV and AIDS
- Browse You and Your Health
References
- P. Anton van der Merwe and S. J. Davis (2003) Molecular Interactions Mediating T Cell Antigen Recognition. Annual Review of Immunology 21, 659-684.
- J. Hennecke and D. C. Wiley (2001) T Cell Receptor-MHC Interactions Up Close. Cell 104, 1-4.
- A. W. Goldrath and M. J. Bevan (1999) Selecting and Maintaining a Diverse T-cell Repertoire. Nature 402, 255-262.
March 2005, David Goodsell
http://doi.org/10.2210/rcsb_pdb/mom_2005_3