Interactions of individual amino acids at the head and tail of the peptide-binding groove control the binding of peptides. The amino acids are mainly positioned at the floor of the antigen-binding groove, or within the helices facing into the groove. MHC amino acids associate with the amino acids near the ends of the peptides and the intervening stretch of peptide folds into a helix within the groove. | Interactions of individual amino acids at the head and tail of the peptide-binding groove control the binding of peptides. The amino acids are mainly positioned at the floor of the antigen-binding groove, or within the helices facing into the groove. MHC amino acids associate with the amino acids near the ends of the peptides and the intervening stretch of peptide folds into a helix within the groove. |