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The role of tapasin in MHC class I antigen assembly

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Abstract

The discovery of tapasin has shed new light on the mechanisms of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I assembly in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Tapasin appears to play an important role in the stable assembly of class I molecules with peptide, however, the precise function of tapasin remains elusive. The pursuit of tapasin function is complicated by the observation that tapasin is not required for successful antigen presentation by all class I molecules. In addition, current data suggest that the putative role of tapasin as a bridging molecule between transporter associated with antigen presentation (TAP) and class I is only of minor importance in tapasin action, and tapasin’s major role appears to be as an active cofactor in the assembly of class I. Furthermore, it is clear that class I molecules can follow multiple pathways for successful assembly in the ER. These pathways may or may not include the interaction of class I molecules with the accessory proteins tapasin, calreticulin, ERp57, or TAP. I would like to suggest that the particular pathway utilized by a given class I molecule depends more upon the availability of appropriate peptides rather than on an intrinsic property of the class I molecule, and that tapasin may serve a peptide editing function.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Immunology Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, 33612, Tampa, Florida

    Matthew J. Androlewicz Ph.D.

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, 33612, Tampa, Florida

    Matthew J. Androlewicz Ph.D.

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Androlewicz, M.J. The role of tapasin in MHC class I antigen assembly. Immunol Res 20, 79–88 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02786464

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