Rigid-body ligand recognition drives cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) receptor triggering
Yu, C., Sonnen, A.F.-P., George, R., Dessailly, B.H., Stagg, L.J., Evans, E.J., Orengo, C.A., Stuart, D.I., Ladbury, J.E., Ikemizu, S., Gilbert, R.J.C., Davis, S.J.(2011) J Biol Chem 286: 6685-6696
- PubMed: 21156796 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M110.182394
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
3OSK - PubMed Abstract: 
The inhibitory T-cell surface-expressed receptor, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4), which belongs to the class of cell surface proteins phosphorylated by extrinsic tyrosine kinases that also includes antigen receptors, binds the related ligands, B7-1 and B7-2, expressed on antigen-presenting cells. Conformational changes are commonly invoked to explain ligand-induced "triggering" of this class of receptors. Crystal structures of ligand-bound CTLA-4 have been reported, but not the apo form, precluding analysis of the structural changes accompanying ligand binding. The 1.8-Å resolution structure of an apo human CTLA-4 homodimer emphasizes the shared evolutionary history of the CTLA-4/CD28 subgroup of the immunoglobulin superfamily and the antigen receptors. The ligand-bound and unbound forms of both CTLA-4 and B7-1 are remarkably similar, in marked contrast to B7-2, whose binding to CTLA-4 has elements of induced fit. Isothermal titration calorimetry reveals that ligand binding by CTLA-4 is enthalpically driven and accompanied by unfavorable entropic changes. The similarity of the thermodynamic parameters determined for the interactions of CTLA-4 with B7-1 and B7-2 suggests that the binding is not highly specific, but the conformational changes observed for B7-2 binding suggest some level of selectivity. The new structure establishes that rigid-body ligand interactions are capable of triggering CTLA-4 phosphorylation by extrinsic kinase(s).
Organizational Affiliation: 
Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine and MRC Human Immunology Unit, The University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom.