Open AccessCasting a wider net: Immunosurveillance by nonclassical MHC molecules
Author(s) -
M. Patricia D’Souza,
Erin J. Adams,
John D. Altman,
Michael E. Birnbaum,
César Boggiano,
Giulia Casorati,
Yueh Hsiu Chien,
Anthony P. Conley,
Sidonia B G Eckle,
Klaus Früh,
Timothy A. Gondré-Lewis,
Namir J. Hassan,
Huang Huang,
Lakshmi Jayashankar,
Anne Kasmar,
Nina Kunwar,
Judith Lavelle,
David Lewinsohn,
Branch Moody,
Louis J. Picker,
Lakshmi Ramachandra,
Nilabh Shastri,
Peter Parham,
Andrew J. McMichael,
Jonathan W. Yewdell
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos pathogens
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.719
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1553-7374
pISSN - 1553-7366
DOI - 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007567
Subject(s) - major histocompatibility complex , immunosurveillance , biology , immunology , mhc class i , immune system , immunological synapse , t cell , t cell receptor , cd1 , microbiology and biotechnology , computational biology , antigen presenting cell
Most studies of T lymphocytes focus on recognition of classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I or II molecules presenting oligopeptides, yet there are numerous variations and exceptions of biological significance based on recognition of a wide variety of nonclassical MHC molecules. These include αβ and γδ T cells that recognize different class Ib molecules (CD1, MR-1, HLA-E, G, F, et al.) that are nearly monomorphic within a given species. Collectively, these T cells can be considered “unconventional,” in part because they recognize lipids, metabolites, and modified peptides. Unlike classical MHC-specific cells, unconventional T cells generally exhibit limited T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) repertoires and often produce innate immune cell-like rapid effector responses. Exploiting this system in new generation vaccines for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis (TB), other infectious agents, and cancer was the focus of a recent workshop, “Immune Surveillance by Non-classical MHC Molecules: Improving Diversity for Antigens,” sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Here, we summarize salient points presented regarding the basic immunobiology of unconventional T cells, recent advances in methodologies to measure unconventional T-cell activity in diseases, and approaches to harness their considerable clinical potential.