N-terminal functional region of the invariant chain efficiently targets the binding of a CTL epitope to MHC class I molecules during cross-presentation
Cross-presentation (CP) is important for priming T cell responses to many viral, bacterial, and tumor antigens. Here, we designed two Ii mutants, based on evidence that the invariant chain (Ii, also named CD74) binds newly synthesized MHC class I molecules with the class II-associated invariant chain peptide (CLIP) region of Ii, which occupies the peptide-binding groove.