MHC Class I & II Tetramers
Our MHC Tetramers enable MHC Class I and Class II detection of antigen-specific T cells
T-cell receptors (TCRs) are found on T-cell surfaces. They recognize and bind to MHC molecule complex bound with specific peptide sequences expressed on the surface of antigen-presenting cells. These MHC complexes bind with peptides that were formed from cytosolic protein degradation. MHC complexes are divided into Class I and Class II, where CD 8+ T-cells recognize Class I MHC molecules and CD 4+ T-cells recognize Class II MHC molecules.
MBL International provides high quality MHC Tetramers for targeted detection of specific MHC/peptide complexes. MHC/peptide monomers are biotinylated and tetramerized with streptavidin to maintain stable binding to multiple TCR, enabling MHC/peptide tetramers to be used as detection tools. MBL International offers MHC tetramers for various Class I Human, Mouse, Rhesus Macaque, Mauritian Cyno, Chicken and Human-Mouse chimera alleles. Also offered are various Class II Human and Mouse alleles, as well as CD1d and MR1 tetramers. Phycoerythrin (PE), allophycocyanin (APC), or Brilliant Violet™ 421 (BV421) fluorophores are available for detection of antigen-specific T cells by flow cytometry or fluorescence microscopy using our MHC multimers.
MHC tetramer technology is based on the ability of MHC-peptide complexes to recognize the antigen-specific T cells at a single cell level. This breakthrough technology enables researchers to precisely measure targeted T-cell responses in infectious diseases, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
- MBLI tetramers offer Superior Specificity with α3 Mutation*
- Class I and Class II Available
- PE, APC and BV421 Conjugates Available
- QuickSwitch™ Create your own custom Class I and Class II MHC tetramers
- Available MHC Alleles
- Custom Services Available
*Only human and macaque HLA Class I Tetramers contain the alpha 3 mutation.
Advantages over competitors
Our MHC tetramers show a higher performance in specificity and target separation.
Comparison with competitors (MHC Class I)
| MBL MHC CLASS I TETRAMER | COMPETITOR’S MULTIMER | |
|---|---|---|
| Reactivity | Our MHC tetramers show high specificity due to a patented mutation (alanine to valine at position 245) in the MHC class I heavy chain, which reduces undesirable CD8-MHC interaction. | No comments regarding reactivity of competitor’s multimers. |
| Quality | Optimized mixing ratio of raw materials dramatically improves tetramer synthesis efficiency and achieves high sensitivity. | Competitor’s multimers sometimes show low reproducibility due to difficulties in quality and quantity control of the number of MHC molecules when producing multimers. |
| Stability | Can be stored at 4°C in refrigerated form for several months and is ready-to-use. | Storage stability is equivalent to MBL MHC tetramers. |
| Custom MHC Tetramer | Availability of more than 60 types of MHC alleles. | Only 20-30 types of alleles. |
Process of MHC Class I Tetramer Synthesis
Detection of Antigen-Specific T Cells by MHC Tetramers
Unique α3 mutation to increase detection specificity
Create your own custom MHC tetramers with QuickSwitch™
Create high quality custom human Class I and Class II MHC tetramers and mouse Class I MHC tetramers in your own lab using our unique QuickSwitch™ tetramer kit. Create new specificity tetramers in just a few hours with QuickSwitch™, a proprietary technology where peptides are easily exchanged on MHC tetramers. Use this kit for screening peptide-MHC affinities, make your own MHC tetramers, and many other applications. Multiple alleles are offered, and new alleles are continuously being added to our QuickSwitch™ kit offerings.
Learn about the types of MHC Molecules
Find important tetramer documents below:
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