A clinical research consortium sponsored by NIAID and JDRF
New MHC Class II tetramer reagents and staining procedures are being developed in facilities at Virginia Mason Research Institute, Seattle, Washington.
The ITN MHC peptide tetramer core is being used to innumerate antigen specific T cells and class II-recognizing T cells (CD4 cells). At present the major application for this technology is for type 1 diabetes where we are looking at T cell responses to GAD65 antigen, some of the peptide antigens presumed to be involved in multiple sclerosis, and antigens implicated in other autoimmune diseases will be investigated.
