Abstract

MHC class II molecules on the surface of antigen-presenting cells display a range of peptides for recognition by the T-cell receptors of CD4⁺ T helper cells. Therefore, MHC class II molecules are central to effective adaptive immune responses, but conversely, genetic and epidemiological data have implicated these molecules in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Indeed, the strength of the associations between particular MHC class II alleles and disease render them the main genetic risk factors for autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes. Here, we discuss the insights that the crystal structures of MHC class II molecules provide into the molecular mechanisms by which sequence polymorphisms might contribute to disease susceptibility.

Author affiliations

1. Division of Structural Biology, The Henry Wellcome Building for Genomic Medicine, The University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK.
2. Department of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby Sygehus, DK-8200 N Aarhus, Denmark.
3. MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, The University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK.
4. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.

Correspondence to: E. Yvonne Jones¹ Email: yvonne@strubi.ox.ac.uk

Correspondence to: Lars Fugger^2,3 Email: lars.fugger@molecular-medicine.oxford.ac.uk

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