Butyrophilin-like 3 Directly Binds a Human V?4+ T Cell Receptor Using a Modality Distinct from Clonally-Restricted Antigen (Immunity)

Butyrophilin (BTN) and butyrophilin-like (BTNL) molecules powerfully influence selection and activation of specific ?? lymphocyte subsets, but whether they directly bind the ?? TCR has remained contentious. Willcox et al. show that BTNL3 directly binds to human V?4+ TCRs via a superantigen-like binding mode that is focused on germline-encoded TCR regions.