Structural highlights
Disease
CD8A_HUMAN Defects in CD8A are a cause of familial CD8 deficiency (CD8 deficiency) [MIM:608957. Familial CD8 deficiency is a novel autosomal recessive immunologic defect characterized by absence of CD8+ cells, leading to recurrent bacterial infections.
Function
CD8A_HUMAN Identifies cytotoxic/suppressor T-cells that interact with MHC class I bearing targets. CD8 is thought to play a role in the process of T-cell mediated killing. CD8 alpha chains binds to class I MHC molecules alpha-3 domains.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
The T cell coreceptors CD4 and CD8 both associate via their cytoplasmic tails with the N-terminus of the Src-family tyrosine kinase Lck. These interactions require zinc and are critical for T cell development and activation. We examined the folding and solution structures of ternary CD4-Lck-Zn2+ and CD8alpha-Lck-Zn2+ complexes. The coreceptor tails and the Lck N-terminus are unstructured in isolation but assemble in the presence of zinc to form compactly folded heterodimeric domains. The cofolded complexes have similar "zinc clasp" cores that are augmented by distinct structural elements. A dileucine motif required for clathrin-mediated endocytosis of CD4 is masked by Lck.
A zinc clasp structure tethers Lck to T cell coreceptors CD4 and CD8.,Kim PW, Sun ZY, Blacklow SC, Wagner G, Eck MJ Science. 2003 Sep 19;301(5640):1725-8. PMID:14500983[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
See Also
References
- ↑ Kim PW, Sun ZY, Blacklow SC, Wagner G, Eck MJ. A zinc clasp structure tethers Lck to T cell coreceptors CD4 and CD8. Science. 2003 Sep 19;301(5640):1725-8. PMID:14500983 doi:10.1126/science.1085643
