Brunnberga et al. used fluorescently engineered, enhanced-affinity, soluble TCRs and antibody–nanobody complexes to quantitatively detect and demonstrate the localization of pMHC-I complexes and different MHC-I allomorphs. Deletion of some components of the PLC editing modules (TSN, CRT, or ERp57) reduced the amount of MHC-I surface molecules, changed the MHC-I surface composition, and favored an increased presentation of suboptimally loaded peptides. Deficiencies in the editing module led to elevated presentation of abundant, high-affinity peptides, suggesting that the PLC restricts the presentation of highly expressed peptides.
Contributed by Shishir Pant
ABSTRACT: Antigen presentation via major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules is essential for surveillance by the adaptive immune system. Central to this process is the peptide-loading complex (PLC), which translocates peptides from the cytosol to the endoplasmic reticulum and catalyzes peptide loading and proofreading of peptide-MHC-I (pMHC-I) complexes. Despite its importance, the impact of individual PLC components on the presented pMHC-I complexes is still insufficiently understood. Here, we used stoichiometrically defined antibody-nanobody complexes and engineered soluble T cell receptors (sTCRs) to quantify different MHC-I allomorphs and defined pMHC-I complexes, respectively. Thereby, we uncovered distinct effects of individual PLC components on the pMHC-I surface pool. Knockouts of components of the PLC editing modules, namely tapasin, ERp57, or calreticulin, changed the MHC-I surface composition to a reduced proportion of HLA-A*02:01 presentation compensated by a higher ratio of HLA-B*40:01 molecules. Intriguingly, these knockouts not only increased the presentation of suboptimally loaded HLA-A*02:01 complexes but also elevated the presentation of high-affinity peptides overexpressed in the cytosol. Our findings suggest that the components of the PLC editing module serve a dual role, acting not only as peptide proofreaders but also as limiters for abundant peptides. This dual function ensures the presentation of a broad spectrum of antigenic peptides.