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Interrogating the repertoire: broadening the scope of peptide–MHC multimer analysis

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 11, pages 551–558 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Labelling antigen-specific T cells with peptide–MHC multimers has provided an invaluable way to monitor T cell-mediated immune responses. A number of recent developments in this technology have made these multimers much easier to make and use in large numbers. Furthermore, enrichment techniques have provided a greatly increased sensitivity that allows the analysis of the naive T cell repertoire directly. Thus, we can expect a flood of new information to emerge in the coming years.

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Figure 1: The advantage of peptide–MHC tetramers and other multimers for the detection of antigen-specific T cells.
Figure 2: UV-mediated peptide-exchange technology.
Figure 3: The combinatorial tetramer staining concept.
Figure 4: Peptide–MHC tetramer enrichment using magnetic particles.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our sources of funding for this work. M.M.D. is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (51731) and grants from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH; U19AI057229). J.D.A. is supported by NIH grants to the NIH Tetramer Core Facility (N01A125456M0D13) and the Emory Center for AIDS research (P30 AI050409). E.W.N. is supported by a Steven and Edward Bielfelt Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Cancer Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mark M. Davis and Evan W. Newell are at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.,

    Mark M. Davis & Evan W. Newell

  2. Mark M. Davis is also at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.,

    Mark M. Davis

  3. John D. Altman is at the Emory Vaccine Center and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.,

    John D. Altman

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  1. Mark M. Davis
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Correspondence to Mark M. Davis or John D. Altman.

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Mark M. Davis and John D. Altman hold a patent for use of peptide–MHC tetramers and receive royalties for their commercial use.

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Davis, M., Altman, J. & Newell, E. Interrogating the repertoire: broadening the scope of peptide–MHC multimer analysis. Nat Rev Immunol 11, 551–558 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3020

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