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Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 
 
 

Mycobacterial Cpn10 promotes recognition of the mammalian homologue by a mycobacterium-specific antiserum.

Self-tolerance, a key feature of the immune system, is still a matter of intense debate. We give here evidence for a peculiar behavior of an antiserum against Mycobacterium tuberculosis chaperonin 10 (m-Cpn10), which could have implications for the mechanism of self-recognition by antibodies against non-self. We show that this antiserum can interact in terms of both inhibition of biological activity and physical association (immunoprecipitation), with the mammalian homologue of m-Cpn10, but only if the bacterial protein is present. Several lines of evidence led us to exclude that the two proteins physically associate to form heterocomplexes: (1) the behavior of the antiserum was not shared by a monoclonal antibody against m-Cpn10; (2) a matrix selective for human Cpn10 (h-Cpn10) did not co-purify m-Cpn10; (3) the distribution pattern in non-denaturing isoelectric focusing of labeled m-Cpn10 was not altered by the presence of the unlabeled h-Cpn10. We conclude therefore that the antiserum against M. tuberculosis Cpn10 also recognizes mammalian Cpn10, with an affinity/avidity regulated by the mycobacterial protein, or by the promotion of hetero-oligomerization. This emergence of self-recognition in the presence of M. tuberculosis Cpn10 could imply a breaking of self-tolerance in situations of infection or vaccination.[1]

References

  1. Mycobacterial Cpn10 promotes recognition of the mammalian homologue by a mycobacterium-specific antiserum. Minto, M., Galli, G., Gianazza, E., Eberini, I., Legname, G., Fossati, G., Modena, D., Marcucci, F., Mascagni, P., Ghezzi, P., Fratelli, M. Biochim. Biophys. Acta (1998) [Pubmed]
 
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