Polymorphism in the beta chain of IAq versus IAp influences presentation of protein but not peptide antigens

I-Aq and I-Ap bind and present similar antigenic peptides despite differing in their ability to mediate susceptibility to autoimmune arthritis

Susceptibility to collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in the murine model is linked to expression of the MHC class II alleles, I-Aq and I-Ar. We have examined the molecular basis for this MHC-linked susceptibility by studying the antigen presentation function of two class II molecules, I-Aq and I-Ap, that are closely related yet differ in mediating susceptibility to CIA. These class II molecules differ by only 4 amino acids, yet only mice expressing I-Aq develop CIA. Although the I-Ap molecule can bind the same immunodominant determinant from type II collagen as I-Aq, H-2p APC have difficulty generating I-Ap:CII peptide complexes when processing of CII is required. Immunization of H-2p mice with type II collagen (CII) generated only a weak T cell response when compared to H-2q mice, whereas immunization with the a CII peptide containing the dominant determinant induced a strong T cell response in both strains. In antigen presentation assays, H-2p APC were very inefficient in stimulating T cells when native CII was used as antigen, however they presented CII synthetic peptides with similar efficiency as H-2q APC. Processing and presentation of other antigens by H-2p APC was not affected. Using soluble class II binding assays, the affinity of I-Ap for the CII dominant peptide was 10 to 50 fold lower than I-Aq, however, this reduced affinity was not a general defect in I-Ap function. I-Aq and I-Ap had virtually identical affinities for binding other antigenic peptides. These data indicate that MHC-based susceptibility to autoimmunity may involve more than simple determinant selection and that the successful generation of an antigenic peptide by processing may be related to the overall affinity of the peptide for the MHC molecule.

The structural basis of MHC control of collagen-induced arthritis; binding of the immunodominant type II collagen 256-270 glycopeptide to H-2Aq and H-2Ap molecules

The Aq major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecule is associated with susceptibility to murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), whereas the closely related H-2Ap molecule is not. To understand the molecular basis for this difference, we have analyzed the ability of H-2Aq and H-2Ap molecules (referred to as Aq and Ap) to bind and present collagen type II (CII)-derived glycosylated and non-glycosylated peptides. T cell clones specific for the immunodominant CII 256-270 peptide and restricted to both Aq and Ap molecules were identified. When these clones were incubated with CII protein and either Aq- or Ap-expressing antigen-presenting cells (APC), only Aq-expressing APC were able to induce stimulation. With the use of A(beta) transgenic mice this could be shown to be solely dependent on the MHC class II molecule itself and to be independent of other MHC- or non-MHC genes. Peptide binding studies were performed using affinity-purified MHC class II molecules. The CII 256-270 peptide bound with lower affinity to the Ap molecule than to the Aq molecule. Using a set of alanine-substituted CII 256-270 peptides, MHC class II and T cell receptor (TCR) contacts were identified. Mainly the side chains of isoleucine 260 and phenylalanine 263 were used for binding both the Aq and Ap molecule, i.e. the peptide was orientated similarly in the binding clefts. The major TCR contact amino acids were lysine 264, which can be posttranslationally modified, and glutamic acid 266, which is the only amino acid in the heterologous peptide which differs from the mouse sequence. Glycosylation at positions 264 and 270 of the CII 256-270 peptide did not change the anchor positions used for binding to the Aq or Ap molecules. The autologous form of the peptide (with aspartic acid at position 266) bound with lower affinity to the Aq molecule as compared with the heterologous peptide. The variable affinity displayed by the immunodominant CII 256-270 peptide for different MHC class II molecules, the identification of MHC and TCR contacts and the significance of glycosylation of these have important implications for the understanding of the molecular basis for inherited MHC class II-associated susceptibility to CIA and in turn, for development of novel treatment strategies in this disease.