Crystal structure of an anti‐interleukin‐2 monoclonal antibody Fab complexed with an antigenic nonapeptide

Abstract

The three-dimensional structure of the Fab fragment of a monoclonal antibody (LNKB-2) to human interleukin-2 (IL-2) complexed with a synthetic antigenic nonapeptide, Ac-Lys-Pro-Leu-Glu-Glu-Val-Leu-AsnLeu-OMe, has been determined at 3.0 Å resolution. In the structure, four out of the six hypervariable loops of the Fab (complementarity determining regions [CDRs] L1, H1, H2, and H3) are involved in peptide association through hydrogen bonding, salt bridge formation, and hydrophobic interactions. The Tyr residues in the Fab antigen binding site play a major role in antigen-antibody recognition. The structures of the complexed and uncomplexed Fab were compared. In the antigen binding site the CDR-L1 loop of the antibody shows the largest structural changes upon peptide binding. The peptide adopts a mostly ␣-helical conformation similar to that in the epitope fragment 64-72 of the IL-2 antigen. The side chains of residues Leu 66, Val 69, and Leu 70, which are shielded internally in the IL-2 structure, are involved in interactions with the Fab in the complex studied. This indicates that antibody-antigen complexation involves a significant rearrangement of the epitope-containing region of the IL-2 with retention of the ␣-helical character of the epitope fragment.Keywords: Monoclonal antibody; Fab-antigen binding fragment; interleukin-2 antigen; antibody-antigen interaction; three-dimensional structure; X-ray analysis Monoclonal antibodies are used widely in biomedical research because of their stereochemical complementarity to specific antigens. Determination of the structural basis of antibody-antigen specificity is important to understanding the mechanism of immune recognition and the rational design of pharmacological agents, synthetic vaccines, and antibodies with novel selectivities. Some aspects of the recognition process remain unclear. The determination of the X-ray crystal structures of a number of unliganded antibodies, isolated antigens, and their complexes has advanced understanding of the nature of antibody-protein-antigen interactions (see selected references:

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