CD1b

CD1b specializes in presenting large microbial lipids from mycobacteria, including mycolic acid, glucose monomycolate and lipoarabinomannan, to alpha-beta T cell receptors. Its antigen-binding architecture is unique among CD1 isoforms, combining C', G' and T' hydrophobic tunnels that accommodate the longest lipid tails presented by any antigen-presenting molecule. Expression is restricted to professional antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells and is transcriptionally induced during inflammation and infection. CD1b-restricted responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens have made it a focus of tuberculosis vaccine design, and structural studies of its tunnels continue to guide lipid-antigen discovery.