The HLA-A*0201-Restricted H-Y Antigen Contains a Posttranslationally Modified Cysteine That Significantly Affects T Cell Recognition.

AbstractA peptide recognized by two cytotoxic T cell clones specific for the human minor histocompatibility antigen H-Y and restricted by HLA-A*0201 was identified. This peptide originates from SMCY, as do two other H-Y epitopes, supporting the importance of this protein as a major source of H-Y determinants in mice and humans. In naturally processed peptides, T cells only recognize posttranslationally altered forms of this peptide that have undergone modification of a cysteine residue in the seventh position. One of these modifications involves attachment of a second cysteine residue via a disulfide bond. This modification has profound effects on T cell recognition and also occurs in other class I MHC-associated peptides, supporting its general importance as an immunological determinant

HTLV-I infection of cerebrospinal fluid T cells from patients with chronic neurologic disease

Antibodies reacting with HTLV-I, the etiologic agent of acute T cell leukemia/lymphoma and a transforming agent for T4-positive lymphocytes in vitro, have recently been described in sera of patients with chronic neurologic disease in the absence of lymphoproliferative disorders. The largest number of such cases was described in Japan and in the Caribbean and parts of South America. We report here two cases of patients with chronic neurologic disease whose cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-derived T cells contain HTLV-I specific RNA sequences and antigens and are expressing retroviral particles. Only one of these patients has demonstrable antibody to HTLV-I in serum or CSF