Unconventional lipid-antigen recognition by group 1 CD1 restricted T cells 

Written By Hashem Koohy

Overview

  • Speaker: Dr Adam Shahine (Monash University)

  • Series: Unravelling T Cell Recognition: Insights from Immunology and AI

  • Host: Hashem Koohy (University of Oxford)

  • Date: 2 February 2026

  • Featured publication: Nature Communications (2026)

This webinar explored how group 1 CD1 molecules—particularly CD1c—enable T cells to recognise lipid antigens, extending immune recognition beyond classical peptide–MHC paradigms. The session integrated structural biology, lipidomics, and T cell immunology to examine emerging principles of unconventional antigen presentation and TCR engagement, with implications for infection, autoimmunity, cancer, and tissue immunity.

Featured publication

The webinar centred on recent work published in Nature Communications demonstrating a distinct mechanism of lipid antigen presentation by CD1c. The study shows that CD1c can accommodate multiple lipids simultaneously and present bulky lipid head groups laterally through a side portal, enabling unconventional modes of T cell recognition.

Themes & Insights

·      Non-peptide antigen presentation by CD1 and MR1 systems

·      Structural models of CD1–TCR interaction, including co-recognition and non-interference

·      New and unpublished data on CD1c-mediated ganglioside presentation

·      Lipidomics and mass spectrometry approaches to define CD1-bound ligands

·      Emerging use of cryo-EM to resolve CD1–TCR complexes

·      Functional implications of limited CD1 polymorphism in humans

Implications & Reflections

Together, these findings challenge simplified models of lipid antigen display and highlight the structural flexibility of CD1c as a mechanism for accommodating chemically diverse ligands while preserving conserved modes of TCR engagement.

Support and acknowledgment

This webinar series is supported by ImmSilico, with the aim of making cutting-edge research at the interface of T cell immunology, experimental technology, and data science openly accessible to the global community.

Watch the recording in my YouTube Channel.

 

Hashem Koohy
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Unravelling T Cell Recognition