TY - JOUR T1 - T-cell receptor–HLA-DRB1 associations suggest specific antigens in pulmonary sarcoidosis JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 898 LP - 909 DO - 10.1183/13993003.01209-2015 VL - 47 IS - 3 AU - Johan Grunewald AU - Ylva Kaiser AU - Mahyar Ostadkarampour AU - Natalia V. Rivera AU - Francesco Vezzi AU - Britta Lötstedt AU - Remi-André Olsen AU - Lina Sylwan AU - Sverker Lundin AU - Max Käller AU - Tatiana Sandalova AU - Kerstin M. Ahlgren AU - Jan Wahlström AU - Adnane Achour AU - Marcus Ronninger AU - Anders Eklund Y1 - 2016/03/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/47/3/898.abstract N2 - In pulmonary sarcoidosis, CD4+ T-cells expressing T-cell receptor Vα2.3 accumulate in the lungs of HLA-DRB1*03+ patients. To investigate T-cell receptor-HLA-DRB1*03 interactions underlying recognition of hitherto unknown antigens, we performed detailed analyses of T-cell receptor expression on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid CD4+ T-cells from sarcoidosis patients.Pulmonary sarcoidosis patients (n=43) underwent bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage. T-cell receptor α and β chains of CD4+ T-cells were analysed by flow cytometry, DNA-sequenced, and three-dimensional molecular models of T-cell receptor-HLA-DRB1*03 complexes generated.Simultaneous expression of Vα2.3 with the Vβ22 chain was identified in the lungs of all HLA-DRB1*03+ patients. Accumulated Vα2.3/Vβ22-expressing T-cells were highly clonal, with identical or near-identical Vα2.3 chain sequences and inter-patient similarities in Vβ22 chain amino acid distribution. Molecular modelling revealed specific T-cell receptor-HLA-DRB1*03-peptide interactions, with a previously identified, sarcoidosis-associated vimentin peptide, (Vim)429–443 DSLPLVDTHSKRTLL, matching both the HLA peptide-binding cleft and distinct T-cell receptor features perfectly.We demonstrate, for the first time, the accumulation of large clonal populations of specific Vα2.3/Vβ22 T-cell receptor-expressing CD4+ T-cells in the lungs of HLA-DRB1*03+ sarcoidosis patients. Several distinct contact points between Vα2.3/Vβ22 receptors and HLA-DRB1*03 molecules suggest presentation of prototypic vimentin-derived peptides.Clonal CD4+ lung T-cells associating with HLA-DRB1*03 molecules indicate specific antigens in pulmonary sarcoidosis http://ow.ly/UB81x ER -