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MHC Tools For COVID-19 Immune Monitoring

Eagle News

Immune Monitoring COVID-19

Cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 are only visible to CD8+ T cell after virus proteins have been processed and presented by MHC class I molecules – and only then are the CD8+ T cell able to eradicate the infection. While antibodies against the COVID-19 virus are important to prevent or minimize infection, CD8+ T cells are responsible for clearing the virus from the body. Hence, the identification of peptides being presented by MHC class I is essential to:

Design potent vaccines eliciting a persistent response and
Using MHC class I tetramers to monitor cellular immune responses
Assessments of vaccine induced cellular immunity

immunAware allows researchers pursuing novel COVID-19 vaccines to generate tetramers and monitor immune responses. In the current pandemic scenario it is essential not to only focus on a few ALA allotypes; rather it is essential to be able to monitor as many allotypes as possible to ensure a novel vaccine targets a broad range of allotypes.

The easYmer reagents can also be used to validate the binding of predicted epitopes to further stratify the selection of potential COVID-19 vaccine targets.

As the US distributor for immunAware, Eagle Biosciences offer their extensive catalog of MHC tetramer products, including:

HLA-A*29:02 (WYMWLGARY) Class I Tetramer

See our full list of immunAware products here. If you have questions or for assistance with a specific product, please contact us.

Technical Spotlight

Technical Spotlight: MHC Molecules

by Eagle Biosciences

What are MHC molecules?

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules play an important role in the acquired immune system of vertebrates. MHC molecules present peptides derived from pathogens on the cell surface so that T-cells can determine the appropriate immune response. The MHC also plays a role in mediating leukocyte interactions, determining compatibility for organ transplants, and determining autoimmune disease susceptibility. In humans, the MHC complex is also known as the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex.

The peptide-MHC (pMHC) interaction to cognate T-cell receptors (TcR) occurs rapidly and at low affinity. Tetramerizing these molecules on a streptavidin scaffold engages multiple TcRs expressed on a given T cell, which stabilizes the reaction and allows for specific T cell staining. pMHC monomers and tetramers can also be used for purification and manipulation of T cells.

Research Applications

MHC monomers and tetramers can be used for selection and proliferation of specific T cells, allowing researchers to isolate specific viral or tumor related antigens. These antigens can be reintroduced to augment the immune system. They are also used in organ transplant research to help reduce the risk of graft-versus-host disease. Additionally, researchers in cancer immunotherapy and vaccine development are exploring various MHC multimer applications to further their fields.

What Eagle Biosciences Offers

We offer a wide range of pMHC monomers and tetramers through our partner, ImmunAware, including easYmer MHC tetramer kits. All of the MHC molecules in are catalog are biotinylated, meaning all of the pMHC monomers can be tetramerized with the laboratory’s choice of strepatavidin label.

View all of our monomer, tetramer, and easYmer kits here.

For more information or assistance finding a specific product, please contact us.

New Product Series

Product Category Spotlight: easYmers

by Eagle Biosciences

Through our collaboration with ImmunAware, we are excited to offer a new range of products: easYmer MHC Tetramers. This product allows laboratories to easily generate monomers using their choice of peptide. The resulting monomers can also be easily tetramerized using fluorophore conjugated streptavidin. These tetramers can then be used to stain cognate T cells for flow cytometry. easYmers allow end users to rapidly produce large quantities of pMHC monomers with a single epitope, to produce and screen pMHC monomers with many different peptide epitope candiates in parallel, and to validate peptide HLA bonding.

Click here to view our available easYmer MHC tetramer kits.

If you have questions about easYmers or if you’re looking for a specific kit, contact us and we’ll be happy to assist.

Supplier Agreement Announcements

Eagle Welcomes ImmunAware!

by Eagle Biosciences

Eagle Biosciences, Inc. is excited to announce that we have partnered with ImmunAware, based in Denmark, to offer their line of easYmer MHC tetramer products in the U.S. and Canada.

About ImmunAware

ImmunAware originated from the Experimental Immunology lab at the University of Copenhagen. They specialize in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. They offer a broad range of peptide-MHC class I and II complexes as either biotinylated monomers, or as tetramers. Their easYmer product line allows laboratories to generate their own peptide-MHC monomers and tetramers.

About easYmers

easYmers contain an active formulation of peptide receptive HLA-I molecules that facilitates monomer generation. The resulting monomers are easily tetramerized with fluorophore conjugated streptavidin for use in flow cytometry for T-cell analysis. easYmer reagents can also be used to evaluate specific peptide-HLA I binding.