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. 1997 May 15;99(10):2405–2415. doi: 10.1172/JCI119423

Identification of naturally processed T cell epitopes from glutamic acid decarboxylase presented in the context of HLA-DR alleles by T lymphocytes of recent onset IDDM patients.

J Endl 1, H Otto 1, G Jung 1, B Dreisbusch 1, F Donie 1, P Stahl 1, R Elbracht 1, G Schmitz 1, E Meinl 1, M Hummel 1, A G Ziegler 1, R Wank 1, D J Schendel 1
PMCID: PMC508080  PMID: 9153283

Abstract

Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) has been defined as a major target antigen in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). To identify the molecular ligands triggering a T cell response to GAD, a panel of human GAD65-specific T lymphocyte lines was generated from peripheral blood of three recent onset IDDM patients. All lines derived from a patient expressing the high-risk-conferring HLA-DR*0301/ *0401 haplotypes recognized a single epitope localized between amino acid positions 270 and 283 of GAD65, a stretch that is located in close proximity to the homology region shared with Coxsackie virus P2-C protein. All lines with this specificity were restricted to the DRA, B1*0401 product of the DR4 haplotype. Analysis of the GAD-specific T cell response in a second patient homozygous for DR4 haplotypes demonstrated that the same DRA, B1*0401 allele selected T cells specific for a different determinant. The T cell response profile in a third patient showed that DR*1501/ *1601-encoding haplotypes could present at least three different epitopes to GAD65-specific T lymphocytes. One of these epitopes was presented by a DR allele associated with the resistance-conferring DRB1*1501 haplotype. GAD-specific T cell lines could not be isolated from HLA class II-matched normal individuals. Our data reveal that (a) the T cell response to GAD65 is quite heterogenous in recent onset IDDM patients; (b) HLA-DR, not DQ, seems to be the principal restriction element used by T cells present at the onset of the disease; and (c) T cells responding to epitopes containing identical sequences to Coxsackie virus P2-C protein were not detected.

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Selected References

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