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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Visualizing Antigen Specific CD4+ T Cells using MHC Class II Tetramers
Published on: March 6, 2009
A three-domain T cell receptor is biologically active and specifically stains cell surface MHC/peptide complexes
D Plaksin1, K Polakova, P McPhie
1Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
We have expressed in bacteria a single-chain T cell receptor (scTCR) with specificity for an HIV gp120-derived peptide bound to the murine MHC-I molecule, H-2Dd. This scTCR consists of V alpha covalently linked to the VbetaCbeta domains that was solubilized, refolded, and purified in high yield. Specific binding of the scTCR to MHC/peptide complexes was demonstrated by surface plasmon resonance, with a Kd of 2 to 8 x 10(-6) M. This scTCR specifically inhibited T cell activation, and stained cell surface MHC/peptide complexes as measured by cytofluorimetry. The preservation of binding specificity by such a three-domain scTCR suggests that this structure is sufficient for specific MHC/peptide recognition and that this strategy will be of general use as applied to other TCR.
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