Mycobacterium tuberculosis synthesizes a thick cell wall comprised of mycolic acids (MA), which are foreign antigens for human T cells. T-cell clones from multiple donors were used to determine the fine-specificity of MA recognition by human ?? T cells. Most CD1-presented lipid antigens contain large hydrophilic head groups comprised of carbohydrates or peptides that dominate patterns of T-cell specificity. MA diverges from the consensus antigen motif in that it lacks a head group.
