Defining T cell receptors which recognise the immunodominant epitope of the gastric autoantigen, the H/K ATPase β-subunit

Abstract

We have previously shown that autoimmune gastritis can be elicited in mice by immunisation with the gastric parietal cell H/K ATPase αβ heterodimer, and, furthermore, have identified the H/K ATPase β-subunit epitope, H/Kβ253-277 as the dominant epitope of the gastric H/K ATPase. Using gastric H/K ATPase-immunised mice, here we have generated two T cell hybridomas specific for the H/Kβ253-277 peptide, namely 4B11.F4.5 and 1E4.C1. Hybridoma 4B11.F4.5 uses Vα8 and Vβ8.2 TCR chains and 1E4.C1 uses Vα9 and Vβ8.3 chains. Although both hybridomas are specific for H/Kβ253-277, T cell assays using overlapping 14-mers of the 25-mer epitope showed that the two autoreactive TCRs recognise different regi..