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Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Visualizing Antigen Specific CD4+ T Cells using MHC Class II Tetramers
Published on: March 6, 2009
Detection of antigen-specific T cells with multivalent soluble class II MHC covalent peptide complexes
F Crawford1, H Kozono, J White
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Division of Basic Immunology, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, Colorado 80206, USA.
Multimeric soluble MHC class II molecules stably occupied with covalently attached peptides bind with appropriate specificity to T cell hybridomas and T cells from T cell receptor transgenic mice. There is a direct correlation between soluble T cell receptor affinity for monomeric MHC/peptide and level of binding of multimeric MHC/peptide to T cells. While binding of the multimeric MHC/peptide complex is proportional to T cell receptor affinity and expression level, there is little influence of T cell CD4.
Multimeric soluble MHC class II molecules stably occupied with covalently attached peptides bind with appropriate specificity to T cell hybridomas and T cells from T cell receptor transgenic mice. There is a direct correlation between soluble T cell receptor affinity for monomeric MHC/peptide and level of binding of multimeric MHC/peptide to T cells. While binding of the multimeric MHC/peptide complex is proportional to T cell receptor affinity and expression level, there is little influence of T cell CD4.
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