D.H. Fremont, M. Matsumura, E.A. Stura, P.A. Peterson, I.A. Wilson, "Crystal structures of two viral peptides in complex with murine MHC class I H-2Kb," Science, 257:919-27, 1992.
Ian A. Wilson (Department of Molecular Biology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif.): "One of the major issues in molecular immunology is determining how a limited number of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules in any individual can recognize and present a seemingly limitless number of foreign antigens to the T-cell component of the immune system. For this to happen, each MHC molecule needs to bind a diverse set of peptide fragments from cellularly processed foreign antigens, yet still be able to do so with high affinity.
"A problem in unraveling this molecular recognition code was the difficulty in obtaining complexes of MHC molecules with single peptides. When MHC molecules are released from the cell surface, they contain a heterogeneous mixture of bound peptides. ...
