Examination of Antigen-Specific B Cell Responses to Red Blood Cell Transfusion

Various models have been developed to study red blood cell (RBC) alloimmunization. While studies using these models have primarily examined general features of this response, identifying key characteristics of antigen-specific B cells is critical when seeking to define regulators of alloimmune responses. Unlike analysis of antigen-specific T cells, which requires peptide loaded in the appropriate major histocompatibility class structure, B cells recognize native antigens, which requires the generation of tools that incorporate individual antigens into multimeric constructs to enhance B cell receptor recognition. While a wide variety of models have now been generated to study the developing immune response to blood group antigens, the use of tetramers has most commonly been applied to the hen egg lysozyme (HEL), ovalbumin (OVA), and Duffy (HOD) model system. We will examine the development and use of B cell tetramers for the purpose of studying antigen-specific B cell responses following RBC transfusion.