Peptide-HSP70 complexes generate cytolytic T-lymphocyte responses.

2004 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Peptides complexed with the protein HSP70 generate efficient human cytolytic T-lymphocyte responses.

According to recent research published in the journal Biochemical Society Transactions, "Microbial HSPs (heat-shock proteins) are implicated in the induction of the innate and adaptive arms of the immune response. We set out to determine whether peptides complexed with HSP70 generate efficient CTL (cytolytic T-lymphocyte) responses. Human dendritic cells pulsed with peptide-loaded microbial HSP70 complexes generate potent antigen-specific CTL responses."

"Using fluorescence anisotropy, we have calculated the peptide-binding affinity of mycobacterial HSP70 (K[subscript]d=14 micromolar) and show that 120 pM HSP70-bound peptide is sufficient to generate a peptide-specific CTL response that is four orders of magnitude more efficient than the peptide alone," stated Babak Javid and colleagues at Addenbrookes Hospital in England and Lionex Diagnostics and Therapeutics GmbH in Germany. "Through the generation of mycobacterial HSP70 truncations, we find that the minimal 136-amino acid, mycobacterial HSP70 peptide-binding domain is sufficient to generate CTL responses."

"The design of an HSP70 mutant, in ...