MR1, drugs and rock and roll — ASN Events

MR1, drugs and rock and roll (#36)

Jamie Rossjohn 1 , Andrew Keller 1 , Sidonia Eckle 2 , Victoria Hughes 1 , Zhenjun Chen 2 , Jeffrey Mak 3 , Weijun Xu 3 , Ligong Liu 3 , David Fairlie 3 , Jim McCluskey 2
  1. Monash University, Clayton , VIC, Australia
  2. University of Melbourne , Melbourne
  3. University of Queensland, Brisbane

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, an abundant population of innate-like T cells in humans, express a T cell antigen receptor (TCR) that is restricted to the monomorphic Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)-related class I-related molecule, MR1.  MR1 presents vitamin B precursors that encompass activating and non-activating ligands derived from riboflavin and folic acid, respectively.  Whether MR1 can present other ligands that modulate MAIT cell activity, or whether there are different modes of TCR recognition of MR1-Ag are unknown.  My presentation will discuss both of these aspects, revealing that the MR1 ligand universe, and MAIT TCR-MR1 docking strategies is greater than previously appreciated.