Glycolipid Antigen Processing for Presentation by... : Science (original) (raw)

• Theodore I. Prigozy
• Olga Naidenko
• Pankaj Qasba
• Dirk Elewaut
• Laurent Brossay
• Archana Khurana
• Takenori Natori
• Yasuhiko Koezuka
• Ashok Kulkarni
• Mitchell Kronenberg

Science

291

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5504

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664

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667

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January 26, 2001

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The requirement for processing glycolipid antigens in T cell recognition was examined with mouse CD1d-mediated responses to glycosphingolipids (GSLs). Although some disaccharide GSL antigens can be recognized without processing, the responses to three other antigens, including the disaccharide GSL Gal(α1→2)GalCer (Gal, galactose; GalCer, galactosylceramide), required removal of the terminal sugars to permit interaction with the T cell receptor. A lysosomal enzyme, α-galactosidase A, was responsible for the processing of Gal(α1→2)GalCer to generate the antigenic monosaccharide epitope. These data demonstrate a carbohydrate antigen processing system analogous to that used for peptides and an ability of T cells to recognize processed fragments of complex glycolipids.