Publications
Nature biotechnologyDec 2024 DOI:
10.1038/s41587-024-02466-y

A general system for targeting MHC class II-antigen complex via a single adaptable loop

Du, Haotian; Liu, Jingjia; Jude, Kevin M; Yang, Xinbo; Li, Ying; Bell, Braxton; Yang, Hongli; Kassardjian, Audrey; Blackson, Wyatt; Mobedi, Ali; Parekh, Udit; Parra Sperberg, R Andres; Julien, Jean-Philippe; Mellins, Elizabeth D; Garcia, K Christopher; Huang, Po-Ssu
Product Used
Genes
Abstract
Major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) bound to a peptide antigen mediates interactions between CD4+ T cells and antigen-presenting cells. Targeting peptide-MHCII with T cell antigen receptors (TCRs) and TCR-like antibodies has shown promise for autoimmune diseases and microbiome tolerance. To develop a general targeting approach, we introduce targeted recognition of antigen-MHC complex reporter for MHCII (TRACeR-II) for the rapid development of peptide-specific MHCII binders. TRACeR-II binders have a small helical bundle scaffold and use a single loop to recognize peptide-MHCII, which offers versatility and enables structural modeling of the interactions to target MHCII antigens. We demonstrate rapid generation of TRACeR-II binders to multiple molecules with affinities in the low-nanomolar to low-micromolar range, comparable to best-in-class TCRs and antibodies. Through computational protein design, we created specific binding sequences in silico from only the sequence of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 peptide. TRACeR-II provides a straightforward approach to target antigen-MHCII without relying on combinatorial selection on complementarity-determining region loops.
Product Used
Genes

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