Major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) molecules are essential for the control of infections by intracellular pathogens (Klein
et al., 1993
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). During chaperone-assisted folding in the endoplasmic reticulum (Elliott & Williams, 2005
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), each MHC-I molecule binds a peptide from the cytoplasm and transports it to the cell surface, where the peptide–MHC complexes are scrutinized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). This sampling of the intracellular protein environment allows CTLs to identify and eliminate infected cells (Townsend & Bodmer, 1989
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). In humans, MHC molecules are referred to as human leukocyte antigens (HLAs).
Peptides bind to MHC-I molecules in a special peptide-binding groove, where six binding pockets (
A–
F) determine the specificity of the MHC-I molecule (Garrett
et al., 1989
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). Most peptides binding to MHC-I molecules consist of 8–11 residues, but binding of peptides up to 14 residues in length has been reported (Probst-Kepper
et al., 2004
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). MHC-I molecules are highly polymorphic and more than 1000 different variants, each with its own binding specificity, exist in the human population (
http://www.anthonynolan.org.uk/HIG/index.html). Studies of the many MHC-I alleles have allowed a grouping based on peptide-binding preferences and so far 12 different supertypes have been identified (Lund
et al., 2004
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; Sette & Sidney, 1999
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). More than 99% of all humans carry MHC-I molecules belonging to at least one of these supertypes.
HLA-A*1101 is known to be important for the control of infections by many different pathogens including HIV (Culmann
et al., 1991
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), Epstein–Barr virus (Gavioli
et al., 1993
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) and hepatitis B virus (HBV; Achour
et al., 1986
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). It is one of the most common MHC-I alleles and is present in up to 27% of some Asian populations (Bodmer
et al., 1999
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). Furthermore, it belongs to the A3 supertype, the second most common supertype, found in 44% of the human population (Sette & Sidney, 1999
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). Thus, peptides targeting HLA-A*1101 are attractive for inclusion in peptide-based vaccines as they afford broad population coverage and understanding HLA-A*1101 will aid in identifying such peptides. Here, we present the 1.6 Å X-ray structure of a complex of HLA-A*1101 with an HBV peptide homologue.