Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Resolving the mystery of pyrophosphate antigen presentation

Small phosphorylated prenyl metabolites are potent activators of γδ T cells in human peripheral blood, but the molecular mechanism underlying their antigenic potency has remained a mystery. New data identify BTN3A1 as a novel antigen-presentation molecule for both microbial and host-derived phosphorylated antigens.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: BTN3A1 presents phosphorylated antigens to Vγ9Vδ2 T cells.

References

  1. Cohen, N.R., Garg, S. & Brenner, M.B. Adv. Immunol. 102, 1–94 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kjer-Nielsen, L. et al. Nature 491, 717–723 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Vantourout, P. & Hayday, A. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 13, 88–100 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Vavassori, S. et al. Nat. Immunol. 14, 908–916 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Fisch, P. et al. Science 250, 1269–1273 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Scotet, E. et al. T. Immunity 22, 71–80 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Sarikonda, G. et al. J. Immunol. 181, 7738–7750 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Harly, C. et al. Blood 120, 2269–2279 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Morita, C.T. et al. Immunity 3, 495–507 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Wang, H., Fang, Z. & Morita, C.T. J. Immunol. 184, 6209–6222 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Allison, T.J., Winter, C.C. & Fournie, J.J. Nature 411, 820–824 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kato, Y., Tanaka, Y., Tanaka, H., Yamashita, S. & Minato, N. J. Immunol. 170, 3608–3613 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Eberl, M. et al. FEBS Lett. 544, 4–10 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Boyden, L.M. et al. Nat. Genet. 40, 656–662 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benjamin E Willcox.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Willcox, C., Mohammed, F. & Willcox, B. Resolving the mystery of pyrophosphate antigen presentation. Nat Immunol 14, 886–887 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2689

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2689

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing