Tetramers for Autoimmune Disease Research

A new class of MHC tetramers can detect and quantitate the T cells that influence many autoimmune diseases.

These new tetramers, called Class II iTAG, measure the activity of antigen-specific CD4 T cells, providing useful information for researchers evaluating vaccine therapy, immunotherapy, immune competence, disease risk, disease prognosis, and cellular energy. In autoimmune diseases, CD4 cells are inappropriately activated. Because these tetramers directly quantitate specific T cells, they offer more complete information on the body's immune response than the traditional method of only observing the antibodies produced by B cells or nonspecific T cell responses.

The new tetramers are the product of Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, CA, USA), which earlier introduced Class I tetramers for measuring CD8 cytotoxic T cells involved in cancer and infectious diseases. The company offers Class II tetramers as custom solutions with peptides specified by the customer and are available for two alleles: DRB#0101 and DRB#10401. The iTag MCH tetramers are for research use only.

"For a host of immunologic disorders, the ability to measure antigen-specific T cell populations, in particular Class II restricted T cells, will be revolutionary,” said George Eisenbarth, M.D., Ph.D., executive director for the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado Health Science Center.