BIOPHYSICAL AND STRUCTURAL STUDIES OF TCRS AND LIGANDS - IMPLICATIONSFOR T-CELL SIGNALING

The availability of soluble alpha beta TCRs and the individual chains has now made it possible to carry out structural studies of these mole cules and analyze their molecular interactions with peptide-MHC ligand s. Recent X-ray crystallographic structures of TCR alpha and beta chai ns have finally established their structural similarity with the lg mo lecules. Kinetic measurements of the interaction between TCRs and thei r ligands have provided strong evidence in favour of an affinity/avidi ty model for T cell activation in the periphery as well as during deve lopment in the thymus.