Atypical sideways recognition of CD1a by autoreactive gamma delta T cell receptors.
Wegrecki, M., Ocampo, T.A., Gunasinghe, S.D., von Borstel, A., Tin, S.Y., Reijneveld, J.F., Cao, T.P., Gully, B.S., Le Nours, J., Moody, D.B., Van Rhijn, I., Rossjohn, J.(2022) Nat Commun 13: 3872-3872
- PubMed: 35790773 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31443-9
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
7RYL, 7RYM, 7RYN, 7RYO - PubMed Abstract: 
CD1a is a monomorphic antigen-presenting molecule on dendritic cells that presents lipids to ¦Á¦Â T cells. Whether CD1a represents a ligand for other immune receptors remains unknown. Here we use CD1a tetramers to show that CD1a is a ligand for V¦Ä1 + ¦Ã¦Ä T cells. Functional studies suggest that two ¦Ã¦Ä T cell receptors (TCRs) bound CD1a in a lipid-independent manner. The crystal structures of three V¦Ã4V¦Ä1 TCR-CD1a-lipid complexes reveal that the ¦Ã¦Ä TCR binds at the extreme far side and parallel to the long axis of the ¦Â-sheet floor of CD1a's antigen-binding cleft. Here, the ¦Ã¦Ä TCR co-recognises the CD1a heavy chain and ¦Â2 microglobulin in a manner that is distinct from all other previously observed ¦Ã¦Ä TCR docking modalities. The 'sideways' and lipid antigen independent mode of autoreactive CD1a recognition induces TCR clustering on the cell surface and proximal T cell signalling as measured by CD3¦Æ phosphorylation. In contrast with the 'end to end' binding of ¦Á¦Â TCRs that typically contact carried antigens, autoreactive ¦Ã¦Ä TCRs support geometrically diverse approaches to CD1a, as well as antigen independent recognition.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Infection and Immunity Program and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.