HLA class II tetramers: tools for direct analysis of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells.
Immunotherapies for human autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases are proliferating rapidly, and with these changes comes the opportunity to monitor patients for immune responses to therapy based on early surrogate markers for clinical responses. Class II tetramers have the potential to serve as these sorts of markers for immune monitoring, and thereby assist with patient management, therapy selection, and improved outcomes. However, important issues of TCR avidity require resolution, because much is still unknown regarding location, quantitation, and characterization of the human T cell response. Opportunities for application of tetramer technologies in the near future will enable both clinical progress and the development of new insights into human CD4+ T cell biology in vivo.
Nepom
Gerald T
GT
Virginia Mason Research Center and University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle 98101-2795, USA. nepom@vmresearch.org
Buckner
Jane H
JH
Novak
Erik J
EJ
Reichstetter
Sandra
S
Reijonen
Helena
H
Gebe
John
J
Wang
Rongfang
R
Swanson
Eric
E
Kwok
William W
WW
D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary
D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II