The role of ERp57 in disulfide bond formation during the assembly of major histocompatibility complex class I in a synchronized semipermeabilized cell translation system

We have established a semipermeabilized cell system that reproduces the folding and assembly of a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I complex as it would occur in the intact cell. The translation of the MHC class I heavy chain (HLA-B27) in this system was synchronized allowing the folding and assembly of polypeptide chains synthesized within a short time frame to be analyzed. This has enabled us to dissect the time course of interaction of both disulfide and nondisulfide-bonded heavy chain with various molecular chaperones during its assembly in a functionally intact endoplasmic reticulum. The results demonstrate that unassembled, nondisulfide-bonded forms of heavy chain interact initially with calnexin. A later and more prolonged interaction of calreticulin, specifically with assembled, disulfide-bonded heavy chain, highlights distinct differences in the roles of these two proteins in the assembly of MHC class I molecules. We also demonstrate that the thiol-dependent reductase ERp57 initially interacts with nondisulfide-bonded heavy chain, but this rapidly becomes disulfide-bonded and indicates that heavy chain folding occurs during its interaction with ERp57. In addition, we also confirm a direct interaction between MHC class I heavy chain and tapasin, emphasizing the role that this protein plays in the later stages of MHC class I assembly.