Structural Immunoinformatics in the TCR/pMHC Interface
The interactions between heterodimeric alpha/beta T cell receptors (TCR) and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) bound peptides is an essential mechanism in adaptive immunology. While the background of binding between the peptide and MHC (pMHC) is well understood the recognition process between pMHC and TCR is still a scientific challenge only few predictive methods were published on this issue. Therefore the aim of my project is to sample the configurational space of a large
numbers of TCRpMHC complexes and search for systematic properties in their dynamics. The ultimate goal of the project is to understand why certain peptides induce an immune response in the human body while other highly similar peptides do not. This decision process can even depend on a single amino acid side-chain. To investigate this highly sensitive process we will develop new methods and obtain insight if spatial rearrangements are an additional level of T cell regulation or if avidity
is the exclusive regulator.