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Specificities of human TAP alleles for HLA-B27 binding peptides
J G Kuipers1, R B Raybourne, K M Williams
1Rheumatology Division, Hannover Medical School, Germany.
Objective:
Allelic TAP polymorphism has been linked to susceptibility to Reiter's syndrome and was suggested to influence disease phenotype in HLA-B27 positive patients with ankylosing spondylitis. In the present study, we examined whether the human TAP alleles functionally differ in their translocation specificity for HLA-B27-binding nonamers.
Methods:
TAP translocation of a panel of HLA-B27-binding peptides was measured with a labeled reporter peptide containing an N-linked glycosylation acceptor site in streptolysin O-permeabilized cells with different TAP alleles.
Results:
The different human TAP alleles tested did not measurably differ in their peptide specificity.
Conclusion:
The polymorphism of human TAP does not affect the translocated repertoire of HLA-B27 ligands and is therefore unlikely to play a decisive role in the development of HLA-B27-associated disease.