International Immunology Advance Access originally published online on April 11, 2006
International Immunology 2006 18(5):755-765; doi:10.1093/intimm/dxl013
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Essential role for cholesterol in the delivery of exogenous antigens to the MHC class I-presentation pathway
Biozentrum, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50, CH 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Correspondence to: J. Pieters; E-mail: jean.pieters{at}unibas.ch
Cross-presentation, which is crucial for the generation of immunity against virus-infected and tumor cells, requires exogenous antigens to be internalized into antigen-presenting cells (APCs) followed by translocation to the cytosol by unknown mechanisms. One important entry route for such antigens is macropinocytosis. We here describe that cholesterol is essential for cross-presentation of antigens loaded via macropinocytosis into APCs. Modification of antigens by palmitoylation to target antigens to cholesterol-enriched plasma membrane domains resulted in a dramatically increased T cell activation. These results define cholesterol as an essential factor for cross-presentation and suggest that specific modification of antigens to increase their affinity for cholesterol may be utilized to enhance immunity.
Keywords: macropinocytosis, cholesterol, antigen presentation
Transmitting editor: H. Ploegh
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