Simplifying principles underlying the highly complex peptide motif of the promiscuous chicken MHC class I molecule, BF2*21:01

  1. Michael Harrison
  2. Paul E Chappell
  3. Samer Halabi
  4. Maria Danysz
  5. Enock M Mararo
  6. Lukasz Magiera
  7. Clemens Hermann
  8. Michael J Deery
  9. Kathryn S Lilley
  10. Hans-Joachim Wallny
  11. David W Avila
  12. William Mwangi
  13. Venugopal Nair
  14. Susan M Lea  Is a corresponding author
  15. Nicola Ternette  Is a corresponding author
  16. Jim Kaufman  Is a corresponding author
  1. Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
  2. University of Oxford, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, United Kingdom
  3. University of Edinburgh, Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, United Kingdom
  4. Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Centre for Proteomics, United Kingdom
  5. Basel Institute for Immunology, Switzerland
  6. Institute for Animal Health, United Kingdom
  7. Pirbright Institute, United Kingdom
  8. Department of Biology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
  9. Department of Structural Biology, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, United States
  10. University of Oxford, Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Old Road Campus, United Kingdom
  11. University of Oxford, Jenner Institute, Old Road Campus, United Kingdom
  12. University of Dundee, School of Life Sciences, United Kingdom
  13. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
  14. Department of Immunobiology, Yale University, United States
28 figures, 2 tables and 1 additional file

Figures

Peptides isolated from class I molecules of chicken blood, spleen, and a B21 cell line separated by HPLC with single peaks subjected to gas phase sequencing show a range of lengths and sequences.

Methods are detailed in Chappell et al., 2015; Koch et al., 2007; Wallny et al., 2006. The peptides are grouped by the six experiments with locations and cell sources indicated. Sequences are in single-letter amino acid code, small letter indicates dominant amino acid in a position, and x indicates ambiguous call. The amino acids are coloured throughout this paper according to their primary characteristic (with the understanding that some amino acids could be characterised in more than one way, e.g. Y both hydrophobic and polar, K basic and hydrophobic, etc.): red, acidic, D and E; blue, basic, H, K and R; green, polar, N, Q, S and T; black, hydrophobic, A, C, F, G, I, L, M, P, V, W, and Y. Designations on the left indicate synthetic peptides used for structures (S), thermostability assays (T), or assembly assays (A), or found as natural peptide by immunopeptidomics (I). Chicken genes from which a (partial) peptide sequence could be identified are presented, with the number of amino acids positions matching compared to total length in brackets.

Representative SEC trace for assembly assays show four typical outcomes for BF2*21:01.

After refolding of bacterially expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin with synthetic peptides according to published methods (Chappell et al., 2015; Koch et al., 2007), samples were spun in a cooled microfuge at full speed for 30 minutes, the supernatant was put through a 0.2 microfilter, and then the flow-through was loaded on a SEC column (in this case, a Superdex 200 10/300 GL column) attached to an AKTA FPLC instrument. In every run, peaks at and slightly after the exclusion volume represent aggregated material, and a peak before the inclusion body represented refolded β2-microglobulin. In between, a sharp peak represented stably refolded monomers of heavy chain, β2-microglobulin and peptide (peptide with blue trace), a broader peak beginning at the same place as the monomer peak presumably represented refolded monomers that were dissociating during chromatography (red), a later broad was at the same position as heavy chain refolded alone (brown) and for some peptides no peak in between the aggregate peaks and the β2-microglobulin peak, representing no successful refolding (green). The x-axis represents elution volume in ml, while the y-axis represents OD215 in mAU.

Assembly of BF2*21:01 molecules by refolding in vitro is markedly affected by single amino acid differences between peptides.

Bacterial-expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were refolded in vitro with single synthetic peptides (in-house identification of peptide batch by P and number), shown as single-letter code with anchor residues underlined and coloured (red, acidic; blue, basic; black hydrophobic), changes from original peptide bolded, and a dot to indicate a residue skipped. Result after analysis by SEC given as +, sharp peak at position of monomer; b, broad peak starting at position of monomer; h, sharp peak at position of heavy chain alone; 0, no peak in between aggregated material at the exclusion volume of the column and the peak representing refolded β2-microglobulin. Methods as in Figure 2.

The original 10mer (REVDEQLLSV) and 11mer (GHAEEYGAETL) peptides refold with BF2*21:01 to give stable monomers as do 11mer and 10mer derivative peptides, but 9mer, 8mer, or 7mer peptides give heavy chain only peaks.

Assembly assays for representative 10mer and 11mer peptides give peaks for stable monomers of BF2*21:01, but shorter peptides based on the 11mer do not. Single synthetic peptides were refolded with bacterial-expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin with synthetic peptides, prepared for SEC as described in the legend for Figure 2, and analysed in this case with a HiLoad 26/60 Superdex 200 column attached to an AKTA FPLC instrument. The peptides 11mer GHAEEYAETL (top panel), 10mer REVDEQLLSV (middle panel), and 11mer GHAEAAAAETL and 10mer GHAEAAAETL (bottom panel) gave sharp monomer peaks, while the 9mer GHAEAAETL, 8mer GHAEAETL, and 7mer GHAEETL gave a delayed broad peak indicative of unstable binding or heavy chain.

Crystal structures of BF2*21:01 with peptides that refold to give stable monomers and models of structures with peptides that either did not refold to give stable monomers or refolded to give monomers with low thermal stability.

(A) Structures were determined for GHAEEYGAETL (3BEV), GHAEEYGADTL (5AD0), and GRAEEYGADTL (5ACZ), which all refolded successfully to give stable monomers, while GRAEEYGAETL did not (see Figure 3), all models of which showed steric clashes (one depicted, red arrow). (B) Two 11mers refolded to give monomers, which were much more stable for GHAEEYGAETL than GHPDWYYGETW (see Figure 6). Models of GHAEEYGAETW and GHPDWYYGETW show steric clashes (red arrows), but the crystal structure with GHAEEYGAETL (3BEV) and a model of GHPDWYYGETLdo not (green arrows). Underlined positions indicate anchor residues; bold letters indicate amino acid substitutions, modelled positions in orange. Methods for refolding and analysis as in Figure 2, modelling done as detailed in ‘Materials and methods’, and structure from Koch et al., 2007.

Peptide length and amino acids at peptide positions P2, P3, Pc-3, Pc-2, and Pc affect stability of BF2*21:01 molecules.

Bacterial-expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were refolded in vitro with various synthetic peptides and melting point measured as 50% uptake of a fluorescent dye that binds to hydrophobic regions, as described in ‘Materials and methods’. Assays were performed in triplicate with error bars indicating standard errors. Peptide sequences are in single-letter code with in-house identification of peptide batch by P and number.

Assembly assays with single-substitution peptide libraries based on the 11mer GHAEEYAETL and the 10mer REVDEQLLSV show marked preferences for particular amino acids at P2, P3, Pc-3, Pc-2, and Pc positions binding to BF2*21:01.

(A) GxAEEYGAETL, (B) GHAEEYGAETx, (C) GHxEEYGAETL, (D) GHAEEYGxETL, (E) RxVDEQLLSV, (F) REVDEQLxSV, (G) REVDEQLLSx, (H) RExDEQLLSV, (I) RDVDEQxLSV, (J) RDxDEQLLSV, (K) RDVDEQLxSV. Bacterial-expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were mixed with peptide libraries (19 amino acids, all except Cys, at one position) at two molar ratios (1:2:10 as usual, and 1:2:2 to control for strong binding peptides) and separated by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised, and analysed by MALDI-TOF. Bar charts show proportion of total signal (with error bars when present showing standard error around the mean for separate refolding experiments) on y-axis for mass/charge (m/z) positions corresponding to peptides with particular amino acids on the x-axis (single-letter code; Ile and Leu were indistinguishable, as were Gln and Lys).

Assembly assays with double-substitution peptide libraries based on the 11mer GHAEEYAETL (top panel) and the 10mer REVDEQLLSV (bottom panel) show marked preferences for particular amino acid combinations at P2 and Pc-2 positions binding to BF2*21:01, with more combinations found for the 10mer.

Bacterial-expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were mixed with peptide libraries (19 amino acids, all except Cys, at two positions indicated by x), separated immediately by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2, or incubated at 4°C or 42°C for 18 hours before SEC; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised, and analysed by MALDI-TOF. Bar charts show proportion of total signal (with error bars when present showing standard error around the mean for separate refolding experiments) on x-axis for mass/charge (m/z) positions corresponding to peptides with particular amino acid combinations on the y-axis (single-letter code; Ile and Leu, Gln and Lys, and amino acids present in P2 versus Pc-2 positions were indistinguishable).

Assembly assays with double-substitution peptide libraries based on five 11mer peptides (GHPDWYYGETW and four derivatives of the 11mer GHAEEYGAETL) and five 10mers (all from the original peptides found by gas phase sequencing, including the original REVDEQLLSV) show different preferences for particular amino acid combinations at P2, P3, Pc-3, and Pc-2 positions binding to BF2*21:01, with more combinations found for 10mer peptides.

(A–E) Bacterial-expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were mixed with peptide libraries (19 amino acids, all except Cys, at one position, indicated by x in the peptide sequence) at two molar ratios (1:2:10 as usual, and 1:2:2 to control for strong binding peptides) and separated by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2 and separated immediately by SEC; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised, and analysed by MALDI-TOF. Bar charts show proportion of total signal (with error bars when present showing standard error around the mean for separate refolding experiments) on x-axis for mass/charge (m/z) positions corresponding to peptides with particular amino acid combinations on the y-axis (single-letter code; Ile and Leu, Gln and Lys, and amino acids present in P2 versus Pc-2 positions were indistinguishable). (A) GHxEEYGxETL, (B) GExEEYGxLTL, (C) GxPDWYYGxTW, (D) GxVEEYGAxTL, and (E) GxAEEYGAxTL.

Assembly assays with double-substitution peptide libraries based on five 11mer peptides (GHPDWYYGETW and four derivatives of the 11mer GHAEEYGAETL) and five 10mers (all from the original peptides found by gas phase sequencing, including the original REVDEQLLSV) show different preferences for particular amino acid combinations at P2, P3, Pc-3, and Pc-2 positions binding to BF2*21:01, with more combinations found for 10mer peptides.

(F–J) (continued from Figure 9). Bacterial-expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were mixed with peptide libraries (19 amino acids, all except Cys, at one position, indicated by x in the peptide sequence) at two molar ratios (1:2:10 as usual and 1:2:2 to control for strong binding peptides) and separated by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2 and separated immediately by SEC; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised, and analysed by MALDI-TOF. Bar charts show proportion of total signal (with error bars when present showing standard error around the mean for separate refolding experiments) on x-axis for mass/charge (m/z) positions corresponding to peptides with particular amino acid combinations on the y-axis (single-letter code; Ile and Leu, Gln and Lys, and amino acids present in P2 versus Pc-2 positions were indistinguishable). (F) TxGQEDYxRL, (G) TxPESKVxYL, (H) YxLDEKFxRL, (I) RxVDEQLxSV, and (J) RxNYGIIxSF.

Comparison of assembly assays of double-substitution libraries by analysis with MALDI-TOF and with LC-MS/MS give similar results, with different preferences for particular amino acid combinations at P2, P3, Pc-3, and Pc-2 positions binding to BF2*21:01, with more combinations for 10mer peptides.

Bacterially expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were mixed with peptide libraries (19 amino acids, all except Cys, at two positions indicated by x in the peptide sequence) at two molar ratios (1:2:10 as usual, and 1:2:2 to control for strong binding peptides) and separated by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised, and analysed. Separate experiments were analysed by MALDI-TOF (blue bars, amino acids in single-letter code with small letters, order not meaningful) and by LC-MS/MS (orange and green stacked bars, amino acids in single-letter code with capital letters, first letter corresponding to P2 or P3 and second letter corresponding to Pc-2 or Pc-3, depending on peptide). Bar charts show proportion of total signal (with error bars when present showing standard error around the mean for separate refolding experiments) on x-axis for mass/charge (m/z) positions corresponding to peptides with particular amino acid combinations on the y-axis.

Figure 11—source data 1

Raw data for ion current (counts) from MALDI-TOF and LC-MS/MS analyses of the peptides that assembled with BF2*21:01 from six double-substitution libraries (source of data for bar graphs in Figures 11—13).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/111098/elife-111098-fig11-data1-v1.xlsx
Comparison of assembly assays of double-substitution libraries by analysis with MALDI-TOF and with LC-MS/MS give similar results, with different preferences for particular amino acid combinations at P2, P3, Pc-3, and Pc-2 positions binding to BF2*21:01, with more combinations for 10mer peptides.

Bacterially expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were mixed with peptide libraries (19 amino acids, all except Cys, at two positions indicated by x in the peptide sequence) at two molar ratios (1:2:10 as usual, and 1:2:2 to control for strong binding peptides) and separated by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised, and analysed. Separate experiments were analysed by MALDI-TOF (blue bars, amino acids in single-letter code with small letters, order not meaningful) and by LC-MS/MS (orange and green stacked bars, amino acids in single-letter code with capital letters, first letter corresponding to P2 or P3 and second letter corresponding to Pc-2 or Pc-3, depending on peptide). Bar charts show proportion of total signal (with error bars when present showing standard error around the mean for separate refolding experiments) on x-axis for mass/charge (m/z) positions corresponding to peptides with particular amino acid combinations on the y-axis.

Comparison of assembly assays of double-substitution libraries by analysis with MALDI-TOF and with LC-MS/MS give similar results, with different preferences for particular amino acid combinations at P2, P3, Pc-3, and Pc-2 positions binding to BF2*21:01, with more combinations for 10mer peptides.

Bacterially expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were mixed with peptide libraries (19 amino acids, all except Cys, at two positions indicated by x in the peptide sequence) at two molar ratios (1:2:10 as usual, and 1:2:2 to control for strong binding peptides) and separated by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised and analysed. Separate experiments were analysed by MALDI-TOF (blue bars, amino acids in single-letter code with small letters, order not meaningful) and by LC-MS/MS (orange and green stacked bars, amino acids in single-letter code with capital letters, first letter corresponding to P2 or P3 and second letter corresponding to Pc-2 or Pc-3, depending on peptide). Bar charts show proportion of total signal (with error bars when present showing standard error around the mean for separate refolding experiments) on x-axis for mass/charge (m/z) positions corresponding to peptides with particular amino acid combinations on the y-axis.

The frequencies of particular amino acids found at positions P2 and Pc-2 of peptides bound to class I molecules from the B21 haplotype vary considerably, as assessed by LC-MS/MS of peptides from two double-substitution libraries with BF2*21:01 and from immunopeptidomics of a B21 cell line.

For assembly assays, bacterial-expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were refolded in vitro with either GxAAEYGAxTL or RsVDEQLxSV (single-letter code; x means roughly equal proportions of 19 naturally occurring amino acids, all except Cys), and separated by SEC; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, and lyophilised. For immunopeptidomics, class I molecules from detergent-solubilised AVOL-1 cells were isolated by affinity chromatography with monoclonal antibody F21-2. Samples were analysed by LC-MS/MS, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with different amino acids (single-letter code) at P2 or Pc-2 found by mass spectroscopy; immunopeptidomic data for 10mer peptides only.

The frequencies of particular amino acids found at positions P2 and Pc-2 in peptides bound to BF2*21:01 vary considerably and are affected by the amino acid present at P3, as assessed by LC-MS/MS of peptides from assembly assays with three double-substitution libraries.

Bacterially expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were refolded in vitro with either GxAEEYGAxTL, GxVEEYGAxTL, or GxPDWYYGxTW (single-letter code; x means roughly equal proportions of 19 naturally occurring amino acids, all except Cys) and separated by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised, and analysed by LC-MS/MS, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with different amino acids (single-letter code) at P2 or Pc-2 found by mass spectroscopy.

The frequency of particular amino acids found at positions P3 and Pc-3 in peptides bound to BF2*21:01 is affected by the amino acids present at P2 and Pc-2, as assessed by LC-MS/MS of peptides from assembly assays with two double-substitution libraries.

Bacterially expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were refolded in vitro with either GExEEYGxLTL or GHxEEYGxETL (single-letter code; x means roughly equal proportions of 19 naturally occurring amino acids, all except Cys) and separated by SEC as described in the legend to Figure 2; monomer peaks were collected, concentrated, treated with acid, lyophilised, and analysed by LC-MS/MS, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with different amino acids (single-letter code) at P3 or Pc-3 found by mass spectroscopy.

Most peptides found by immunopeptidomics of a B21 cell line were between 8 and 12 amino acids in length, with the most frequent being 10mers, all of which had complex peptide motifs.

For immunopeptidomics, class I molecules from detergent-solubilised AVOL-1 cells were isolated by affinity chromatography with monoclonal antibody F21-2. Samples were analysed by LC-MS/MS, with bar graphs showing the number of sequences with different lengths as found by mass spectroscopy. Peptide motifs were determined by Gibbs clustering.

Figure 17—source data 1

Raw data from immunopeptidomics of class I molecules from AVOL-1 cells (source of data for Figures 17—27).

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/111098/elife-111098-fig17-data1-v1.xlsx
The frequency of particular amino acids found at positions P2, Pc-2, and Pc in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line varies depending on length of peptide, with Leu predominant at Pc for all lengths, and with 8mers more like 10mers at P2 and Pc-2.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with different amino acids (single-letter code) at P2, Pc-2, and Pc found by mass spectroscopy.

The frequency of particular amino acids found at positions P2, Pc-2, and Pc in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line varies depending on length of peptide, but patterns found in peptides up to 12mers are not so obvious in longer peptides.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with different amino acids (single-letter code) at P2, Pc-2, and Pc found by mass spectroscopy.

The frequencies of particular amino acids found at position Pc-2 in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line vary depending on whether the amino acids at P2 are acidic (Asp and Glu), basic (His, Lys, and Arg), polar (Asn, Gln, Ser, and Thr), or hydrophobic (Ala, Cys, Phe, Gly, Ile, Leu, Met, Pro, Val, Trp, and Tyr), but Leu is found overwhelmingly at Pc in all peptides.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with different amino acids (single-letter code) at P2, Pc-2, or Pc found by mass spectroscopy.

Many different combinations of amino acids at positions P2 and Pc-2 in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line are found by immunopeptidomics, but only a few are found frequently.

Peptides (9, 10, and 11mers) identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with heat map showing combinations of amino acids (single-letter code, with P2 on left and Pc-2 on top) at intersections, with empty cells showing no peptides found, and colours showing numbers of peptides found highlighted with low frequency in blue to high frequency in red.

Only a few combinations of amino acids at positions P2 and Pc-2 in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line are found at frequencies of 1% or higher.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with different combinations of amino acids at P2 and Pc-2 (single-letter code, with P2 first and then Pc-2) found by mass spectroscopy.

The frequencies of particular amino acids found at positions P3 and Pc-3 in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line vary depending on length of peptide.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with different amino acids (single-letter code) at P3 or Pc-3 found by mass spectroscopy.

The frequencies of groups of amino acids (acidic, basic, large hydrophobic, small and Pro) found at position P3 in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line vary depending on the amino acid at P2 and on the length of peptide.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with amino acids at P2 on the x-axis against different groups of amino acids (single-letter code: acidic being Asp and Gly; basic being His, Lys and Arg; large hydrophobic being Phe, Ile, Leu, Met, Trp, and Tyr; small being Ala, Cys, Gly Ser; Pro) at P3 on the y-axis, as found by mass spectroscopy.

The frequencies of groups of amino acids (acidic, basic, large hydrophobic, small and Pro) found at positions Pc-3 in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line vary depending on the amino acid at Pc-2 and on length of peptide, with 8mers more like 10mers.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with amino acids at Pc-2 on the x-axis against different groups of amino acids (single-letter code: acidic being Asp and Gly; basic being His, Lys and Arg; large hydrophobic being Phe, Ile, Leu, Met, Trp, and Tyr; small being Ala, Cys, Gly Ser; Pro) at Pc-3 on the y-axis, as found by mass spectroscopy.

The frequency of Leu found at position Pc in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line vary depending on length of peptide and position Pc-2.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with bar graphs showing the percentage of sequences with Leu at Pc-2 on the y-axis against amino acids (single-letter code) at Pc on the y-axis, as found by mass spectroscopy.

The frequencies of groups of amino acids (Leu, other hydrophobic, acidic, basic, polar) found at Pc in peptides bound to class I molecules from a B21 cell line vary depending on the amino acid at Pc-2 and on length of peptide, with significant proportions of acidic, basic, and/or polar amino acids compared to Leu at Pc for certain amino acids at Pc-2 in 9mers and 11mers.

Peptides identified by immunopeptidomics as in Figure 17, with stacked bar graphs showing the number of sequences with Leu, other hydrophobic (Cys, Phe, Gly, Ile, Met, Pro, Val, Trp, and Tyr), acidic (Asp and Glu), basic (His, Lys, and Arg), and polar (Asn, Gln, Ser, and Thr) amino acids at Pc against length of peptide and amino acid (single-letter code) at Pc-2, as found by mass spectroscopy.

Superimposition of peptides from eight structures of BF2*21:01 show that the C-terminal portions all have similar conformations, while the N-terminal portions vary considerably.

Bacterially expressed heavy chain and β2-microglobulin were refolded in vitro with various synthetic peptides, purified by SEC, crystallised, and the X-ray structures determined. Depicted are the main chains, with N-termini on the left, viewed from the side of α2 helix of the class I molecule. Structures are 3BEV (GHAEEYGAETL, green) and 3BEV (REVDEQLLSV, light blue) (Koch et al., 2007), 2YEZ (TNPESKVFYL, pink), 4D0B (TAGQEDYDRL, yellow), 4D0C (TAGQSNYDRL, wheat) and 4CVZ (YELDEKFDRL, grey) (Chappell et al., 2015), and 5AD0 (GHAEEYGADTL, dark blue) and 5ACZ (GRAEEYGADTL, orange) (this publication).

Tables

Table 1
Crystallographic data.
BF2*21:015ACZ5AD0
Data collection
Wavelength (Å)0.970.8726
Resolution range (Å)
(highest resolution shell)
51.31–2.69
(2.82–2.69)
73.78–2.84
(3.17–2.84)
Space groupP 21 21 21P 21 21 21
Unit cell a,b,c, (Å)
a,b,g (°)
71.61, 72.33, 72.81
90, 90, 90
73.86, 72.33, 73.53
90.00, 90.00, 90.00
Total reflections57,18554,726
Unique reflections10,8779390
Multiplicity5.35.8
Completeness (%)99.4 (97.7)96.5 (87.7)
Mean I/sigma (I)12.0 (2.7)11 (2)
Wilson B-factor (Å2)33.541
R-merge0.15 (0.69)0.16 (0.41)
R-meas0.267 (0.239)0.250 (0.290)
R-pim0.15 (0.69)0.16 (0.41)
correlation coefficient Fo-Fc0.8940.869
Refinement
Reflections used in refinement103779355
Reflections used for R-free474 (4.37%)449 (4.8 %)
Rwork0.2390.236
Rfree0.2670.273
Number of atoms: non-hydrogen30313063
macromolecules00
Ligands49
Solvent432
Protein residues30233022
RMSD (bonds, Å)0.0070.007
RMSD (angles, °)1.10.8
Ramachandran favoured (%)9896
Ramachandran allowed (%)24
Ramachandran outliers (%)00
Clash score21
Average B-factor (Å2)30.038.0
Macromolecules3139
Ligands3540
Solvent2418
Number of TLS groups00
Key resources table
Reagent type (species) or resourceDesignationSource or referenceIdentifiersAdditional information
Cell line (Gallus gallus)TG21Walker et al., 2011In-house cell lineTG21 was derived by Dr. Thomas Göbel at the Basel Institute for Immunology in the early 1990s using reticuloendotheliosis virus REV-T transformation of concanavalin A-activated splenocytes from H.B21 birds.
Cell line (G. gallus)AVOL-1Yao et al., 2008In-house cell lineAVOL-1 was derived in the lab of Dr. Venugopal Nair at the Institute for Animal Health at Compton UK (now the Pirbright Institute) in the early 2000s using REV-T transformation of spleen cells from a line 0 chicken.
Biological sample (G. gallus)H.B21 chicken lineSimonsen et al., 1982; Hala, 1987; Miller et al., 2004In-house chicken lineThe H.B21 chicken line was bred from American white leghorns in Copenhagen in the 1970s, and kept at the Basel Institute for Immunology until its closure.
Biological sample (G. gallus)N chicken lineSimonsen et al., 1982; Hala, 1987; Miller et al., 2004In-house chicken lineThe N chicken line was bred from Hy-Line commercial birds by Randy Cole at Cornell University in 1965, then kept at the Regional Poultry Research laboratory in East Lansing Michigan, sent to the Institute for Animal Health at Compton UK and finally transferred to the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh Scotland, before being retained only as primordial germ cells.
AntibodyF21-2 (mouse monoclonal)Crone et al., 1985, currently available from Southern Biotech (and Thermo-Fisher, Fisher Scientific, Bio-Rad, Invitrogen, Arigo, etc)Southern Biotech Cat. No. 8345-01Monoclonal antibody F21-2 was raised in the lab of Morten Simonsen in Copenhagen against chicken cells and reacts with chicken class I molecules/heavy chains on cells, by immunoprecipitation and by western blot. Tissue culture supernatants from the hybridoma in-house were used to isolate class I molecules from blood, spleen and TG21 cell line for Figure 1. Commercial antibody (3 mg) was used to isolate class I molecules from AVOL-1 for Figures 17—27.
AntibodyF21-21 (mouse monoclonal)Crone et al., 1985, currently available from Southern Biotech (and Thermo-Fisher, Fisher Scientific, Bio-Rad, Invitrogen, Arigo, etc)Southern Biotech Cat. No. 8355-01Monoclonal antibody F21-21 was raised in the lab of Morten Simonsen in Copenhagen against chicken cells and reacts with chicken class I molecules/beta2-microglobulin on cells, by immunoprecipitation and by western blot. Tissue culture supernatants from the hybridoma in-house were used to isolate class I molecules from blood, spleen and TG21 cell line for Figure 1.

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  1. Michael Harrison
  2. Paul E Chappell
  3. Samer Halabi
  4. Maria Danysz
  5. Enock M Mararo
  6. Lukasz Magiera
  7. Clemens Hermann
  8. Michael J Deery
  9. Kathryn S Lilley
  10. Hans-Joachim Wallny
  11. David W Avila
  12. William Mwangi
  13. Venugopal Nair
  14. Susan M Lea
  15. Nicola Ternette
  16. Jim Kaufman
(2026)
Simplifying principles underlying the highly complex peptide motif of the promiscuous chicken MHC class I molecule, BF2*21:01
eLife 15:RP111098.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.111098.3