CONSERVED STRUCTURAL FEATURES BETWEEN HLA-DO-BETA AND HLA-DR-BETA

HLA-DO is a non-classical MHC class II molecule presumed to play a spe cialized role in the antigen processing pathway. We have modeled the H LA-DO beta-chain and found its overall structure compatible with the o ne of DR beta. Functional studies further highlighted the similarity b etween these beta-chains of the class II family of proteins. Indeed, a mixed heterodimer composed of the DR alpha and a chimeric DO beta-cha ins presented bacterial superantigens to T cells and was shown to inte ract with CD4. The implications of such structural conservation for th e in vivo functions of HLA-DO are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.