Diverse Peptide Presentation of Rhesus Macaque Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Mamu-A*02 Revealed by Two Peptide Complex Structures and Insights into Immune Escape of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus

ABSTRACT Major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I)-restricted CD8 + T-cell responses play a pivotal role in anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) immunity and the control of viremia. The rhesus macaque is an important animal model for HIV-related research. Among the MHC I alleles of the rhesus macaque, Mamu-A*02 is prevalent, presenting in ≥20% of macaques. In this study, we determined the crystal structure of Mamu-A*02, the second structure-determined MHC I from the rhesus macaque after Mamu-A*01. The peptide presentation characteristics of Mamu-A*02 are exhibited in complex structures with two typical Mamu-A*02-restricted CD8 + T-cell epitopes, YY9 (Nef159 to -167; YTSGPGIRY) and GY9 (Gag71 to -79; GSENLKSLY), derived from simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). These two peptides utilize similar primary anchor residues (Ser or Thr) at position 2 and Tyr at position 9. However, the central region of YY9 is different from that of GY9, a difference that may correlate with the immunogenic variance of these peptides. Further analysis indicated that the distinct conformations of these two peptides are modulated by four flexible residues in the Mamu-A*02 peptide-binding groove. The rare combination of these four residues in Mamu-A*02 leads to a variant presentation for peptides with different residues in their central regions. Additionally, in the two structures of the Mamu-A*02 complex, we compared the binding of rhesus and human β 2 microglobulin (β 2 m) to Mamu-A*02. We found that the peptide presentation of Mamu-A*02 is not affected by the interspecies interaction with human β 2 m. Our work broadens the understanding of CD8 + T-cell-specific immunity against SIV in the rhesus macaque.