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pt is the molecular mechanisms by which T cell receptors can recognize and T cell antigen recognition is initiated by molecular such as thymic selection and maintenance of the T doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2006.08.045contact between the T cell receptor (TCR) and the peptide/major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which leads to an intracellular signaling cascade generally resulting in a functional response by the T cell. Although antigen specificity is considered a hallmark of the adaptive immune response, an increasing body of evidence indicates that the TCR exhibits a degree of cross-reactivity, allowing it to bind and respond to different peptide/MHC cell repertoire, as well as pathogenic conditions such as autoimmunity. Cross-reactivity may be mediated via multiple mechanisms, including mole-cular mimicry, in which different antigens retain common structural and chemical features,3 or by conformational adjustments within the receptor-ligand interface, whereby structural changes occur in order for binding to proceed. Of these mechan-isms, conformational adjustments have received significant attention recently, as the underlyingScience Hall, University o