Structural basis of autoimmunity against G protein coupled membrane receptors.

The structural basis of the function of G protein coupled membrane receptors will be considered taking the beta 2-adrenergic receptor as model. The immunogenicity and antigenicity of the same receptor will be studied to examine the immunological properties of the G protein coupled membrane receptors. From the two first parts will be derived the conditions which could lead to the building-up of a functional autoimmune response. Finally, the possible application of the structural knowledge on antibody-receptor interactions will be discussed.