# MOLECULAR EVENTS IN ANTIGEN RECOGNITION

> **NIH NIH R01** · CYTEL CORPORATION · 1988 · $268,405

## Abstract

T cells of the helper-inducer subset recognize antigen and the
class II MHC molecules expressed on accessory cells.  For globular
protein antigens, the antigen must be processed by the accessory
cells prior to T cell recognition.  Small peptides can substitute for
processed antigen since they can be recognized by T cells when
prefixed accessory cells or Ia bearing planar membranes are used
to present antigen.  We have recently been able to demonstrate
that immunogenic peptides bind specifically to Ia-molecules.
With a panel of 12 such peptides we have found a correlation
between the capacity of an Ia molecule to bind a particular
peptide and the capacity of that Ia to serve as a restriction
element of the same peptide.  Furthermore, we have provided
evidence that the complex formed between Ia and peptide is
immunologically relevant and that it is this moiety that is
recognized by the T cell receptor.  We plan to extend our
investigations of the role of antigen-Ia interactions in T helper
cell responses as follows:

1)  To investigate the structural characteristics of peptides that
enable them to interact with Ia.

2)  To identify the peptide regions within a naturally occurring
protein antigen that bind to Ia and to correlate this binding
activity to the immunogenicity of these same peptides.

3)  To identify and characterize the region(s) within Ia molecules
that form the antigen binding site(s) of Ia.

4)  To demonstrate and characterize the tri-molecular complex
between Ia, antigen, and T cell receptor.

5)  To investigate the stoichiometry of Ia-peptide interaction in
an attempt to understand why a small fraction of affinity purified
Ia appears capable of binding peptide.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3128059
- **Project number:** 2R01AI018634-06A1
- **Recipient organization:** CYTEL CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** HOWARD M. GREY
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1988
- **Award amount:** $268,405
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1988-08-01 → 1993-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3128059

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3128059, MOLECULAR EVENTS IN ANTIGEN RECOGNITION (2R01AI018634-06A1). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3128059. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*