Structural classification of CDR-H3 in antibodies

FEBS Lett. 1996 Dec 9;399(1-2):1-8. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(96)01252-5.

Abstract

Large varieties in the lengths and the amino acid sequences of the third complementarity determining region of the antibody heavy chain (CDR-H3) have made it difficult to establish a relationship between the sequences and the tertiary structures, in contrast to the other CDRs, which are classified by their canonical structures. A total of 55 CDR-H3 segments from well determined crystal structures were analyzed, and we have derived several remarkable rules, which could partly govern the CDR-H3 conformation dependence on the sequence. Since the rules are physically reasonable, they are expected to be applicable to structural modeling and design of antibodies.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antibodies / chemistry*
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Immunoglobulin Variable Region / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Protein Conformation

Substances

  • Antibodies
  • Immunoglobulin Variable Region