Tetramers for Autoimmune Disease Research

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.