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Image of CD4 co-receptor binding to MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) non-polymorphic region. In molecular biology, CD4 (cluster of differentiation 4) is a glycoprotein that serves as a co-receptor for the T-cell receptor (TCR). CD4 is found on the surface of immune cells such as helper T cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells.
CD4-Ig works by mimicking the binding of CD4 to HIV, thereby preventing the virus from infecting T-helper cells. HIV infects T-helper cells by binding to the CD4 receptor and the co-receptor CCR5 or CXCR4. CD4-Ig binds to the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120, which is responsible for HIV binding to CD4. By binding to gp120, CD4-Ig prevents the ...
The CD family of co-receptors are a well-studied group of extracellular receptors found in immunological cells. [4] The CD receptor family typically act as co-receptors, illustrated by the classic example of CD4 acting as a co-receptor to the T cell receptor (TCR) to bind major histocompatibility complex II (MHC-II). [5]
Since CD4 receptor binding is the most obvious step in HIV infection, gp120 was among the first targets of HIV vaccine research. Efforts to develop HIV vaccines targeting gp120, however, have been hampered by the chemical and structural properties of gp120, which make it difficult for antibodies to bind to it. gp120 can also easily be shed from the surface of the virus and captured by T cells ...
Cellular membranes separate these two cellular environments - intracellular and extracellular. Each T cell can only recognize tens to hundreds of copies of a unique sequence of a single peptide among thousands of other peptides presented on the same cell, because an MHC molecule in one cell can bind to quite a large range of peptides.
The binding of the antigen-MHC to the TCR complex and CD4 may also help the APC and the T h cell adhere during T h cell activation, but the integrin protein LFA-1 on the T cell and ICAM on the APC are the primary molecules of adhesion in this cell interaction.
Antigen presentation stimulates immature T cells to become either mature "cytotoxic" CD8+ cells or mature "helper" CD4+ cells. An antigen-presenting cell (APC) or accessory cell is a cell that displays an antigen bound by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins on its surface; this process is known as antigen presentation.
CD4 cells develop into a diverse array of effector cell types depending on the nature of the signals they receive during priming. CD4 effector activity can include cytotoxicity , but more frequently it involves the secretion of a set of cytokines that directs the target cell to make a particular response.