Recognition of carbohydrate by major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted, glycopeptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes

6 pages, 5 figures.-- PMID: 8046349 [PubMed].-- PMCID: PMC2191607.Cytotoxic T cells (CTL) recognize short peptide epitopes presented by class I glycoproteins encoded by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). It is not yet known whether peptides containing posttranslationally modified amino acids can also be recognized by CTL. To address this issue, we have studied the immunogenicity and recognition of a glycopeptide carrying an O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) monosaccharide-substituted serine residue. This posttranslational modification is catalyzed by a recently described cytosolic glycosyltransferase. We show that glycosylation does not affect peptide binding to MHC class I and that glycopeptides can elicit a strong CTL response that is glycopeptide specific. Furthermore, glycopeptide recognition by cytotoxic T cells is dependent on the chemical structure of the glycan as well as its position within the peptide.We wish to thank Dr. Elena Sadovnikova and Dr. Hans J. Stanss (Imperial Cancer Research Foundation, London, UK) for their valuable help with raising antipeptide CTLs; and Professor Jens Chr. Jensenius (University of Aarbus, Denmark) for helpful discussions. J. S. Haurum is a Carlsberg-Wellcome Travelling Research Fellow, G. Asequell is an EC Fellow, and A. C. Lellouch is supported by a United States Public Health Service National Research Service Award F32 GM- 15811. This work was supported by the Carlsberg Foundation, the Wellcome trust, the Beckett Foundation, and Statens Sundhedsvidenskabelige Forskningsr~d, Denmark.Peer reviewe