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Updated: May 14, 2026

Co-immunoprecipitation Assay for Studying Functional Interactions Between Receptors and Enzymes
Published on: September 28, 2018
Structure and interactions of the human programmed cell death 1 receptor
Xiaoxiao Cheng1, Vaclav Veverka, Anand Radhakrishnan
1Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom.
The study reveals the structure of human PD-1 and its interactions with PD-L1 and PD-L2. Despite weak binding affinities, these interactions regulate immune responses, offering insights for immunotherapy development.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Structural Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) is a key immune checkpoint receptor.
- Understanding PD-1's structure and ligand interactions is crucial for immunotherapy.
- Current knowledge of human PD-1 structure and binding is incomplete.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the solution NMR structure of the human PD-1 extracellular region.
- To analyze the interactions of human PD-1 with its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2.
- To elucidate the biophysical mechanisms governing these interactions and their functional implications.
Main Methods:
- Solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for structure determination.
- Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for measuring binding affinities.
- Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) for characterizing binding thermodynamics.
- Mathematical simulations for quantitative analysis of biological interactions.
Main Results:
- The solution NMR structure of human PD-1 reveals unique features, including a flexible GFCC' sheet.
- PD-1 interacts differently with PD-L1 and PD-L2, diverging from crystal structures of mouse complexes.
- Binding affinities are weaker than anticipated, with PD-L2 showing higher affinity than PD-L1.
- PD-1/PD-L1 interaction is entropically driven, while PD-1/PD-L2 binding is enthalpically driven.
- PD-L2's contribution to PD-1 ligation in T cell interactions is unexpectedly limited.
Conclusions:
- Provides a detailed structural and biophysical characterization of human PD-1 and its ligand interactions.
- Suggests that potent immune inhibitory signaling can be mediated by weak receptor-ligand interactions.
- Offers a framework for understanding PD-1 function and developing targeted immunotherapies.
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