Rachel L Paterson, Marco P La Manna, Victoria Arena De Souza, Andrew Walker, Dawn Gibbs-Howe, Rakesh Kulkarni, Joannah R Fergusson, Nitha Charles Mulakkal, Mauro Monteiro, Wilawan Bunjobpol, Marcin Dembek, Magdalena Martin-Urdiroz, Tressan Grant, Claire Barber, Diana J Garay-Baquero, Liku Bekele Tezera, David Lowne, Camille Britton-Rivet, Robert Pengelly, Natalia Chepisiuk, Praveen K Singh, Amanda P Woon, Alex S Powlesland, Michelle L McCully, Nadia Caccamo, Mariolina Salio, Giusto Davide Badami, Lucy Dorrell, Andrew Knox, Ross Robinson, Paul Elkington, Francesco Dieli, Marco Lepore, Sarah Leonard, Luis F Godinho
Peptides presented by HLA-E, a molecule with very limited polymorphism, represent attractive targets for T cell receptor (TCR)-based immunotherapies to circumvent the limitations imposed by the high polymorphism of classical HLA genes in the human population. Here, we describe a TCR-based bispecific molecule that potently and selectively binds HLA-E in complex with a peptide encoded by the inhA gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis in humans. We reveal the biophysical and structural bases underpinning the potency and specificity of this molecule and demonstrate its ability to redirect polyclonal T cells to target HLA-E-expressing cells transduced with mycobacterial inhA as well as primary cells infected with virulent Mtb...
May 7, 2024: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America