Peter J Eggenhuizen, Rachel M Y Cheong, Cecilia Lo, Janet Chang, Boaz H Ng, Yi Tian Ting, Julie A Monk, Khai L Loh, Ashraf Broury, Elean S V Tay, Chanjuan Shen, Yong Zhong, Steven Lim, Jia Xi Chung, Rangi Kandane-Rathnayake, Rachel Koelmeyer, Alberta Hoi, Ashutosh Chaudhry, Paolo Manzanillo, Sarah L Snelgrove, Eric F Morand, Joshua D Ooi
Antigen-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress pathogenic autoreactivity and are potential therapeutic candidates for autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Lupus nephritis is associated with autoreactivity to the Smith (Sm) autoantigen and the human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-DR15 haplotype; hence, we investigated the potential of Sm-specific Tregs (Sm-Tregs) to suppress disease. Here we identify a HLA-DR15 restricted immunodominant Sm T cell epitope using biophysical affinity binding assays, then identify high-affinity Sm-specific T cell receptors (TCRs) using high-throughput single-cell sequencing...
February 6, 2024: Nature Communications