T-cell epitopes of the La/SSB autoantigen: prediction based on the homology modeling of HLA-DQ2/DQ7 with the insulin-B peptide/HLA-DQ8 complex
Abstract
T-cell epitopes are important components of the inappropriate response of the immune system to self-proteins in autoimmune diseases. In this study, the candidate T-cell epitopes of the La/SSB autoantigen, the main target of the autoimmune response in patients with Sjogren's Syndrome (SS), and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) were predicted using as a template the HLA-DQ2 and DQ7 molecules, which are genetically linked to patients with SS and SLE. Modeling of DQ2 and DQ7 was based on the crystal structure of HLA-DQ8, an HLA molecule of high risk factor of type I diabetes, which is also an autoimmune disease. The quality and reliability of the modeled DQ2 and DQ7 was confirmed by the Ramachandran plot and the TINKER molecular modeling software. Common and/or similar candidate T-cell epitopes, obtained by comparing three different approaches the Taylor's sequence pattern, the TEPITOPE quantitative matrices, and the MULTIPRED artificial neural network, were subjected to homology modeling with the crystal structure of the insulin-B peptide complexed with HLA-DQ8, and the best superposed candidate epitopes were placed into the modeled HLA-DQ2 and DQ7 binding grooves to perform energy minimization calculations. Six T-cell epitopes w...Continue Reading
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Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases occur as a result of an attack by the immune system on the body’s own tissues resulting in damage and dysfunction. There are different types of autoimmune diseases, in which there is a complex and unknown interaction between genetics and the environment. Discover the latest research on autoimmune diseases here.