The Impact of Environmental Signals on the Growth and Survival of Human T Cells

Open conformers: the hidden face of MHC-I molecules

“…Thus, the suggestion that MHC-I molecules and the insulin receptor are structurally associated in the plasma membrane as a result of the displacement of b 2 m [18] was corroborated by elegant studies showing that the presence of open conformers was mandatory for the cis-association with the insulin receptor to occur and that the cis-association was abrogated after exogenous addition of human b 2 m [18,25]. The observation that open conformers appear, almost exclusively, at the cell surface of metabolically active cells requiring nutrient uptake to meet metabolic needs underlines the importance of the formation of open MHC-I conformers for establishing the cis-interactions with growth factor receptors [26].…”