Currently, the our lab is implementing HLA tetramer assays to monitor changes in autoreactive T cell responses in the context of clinical trials and the natural history of autoimmune diseases.
Recognizing that tetramer analysis is informative, but inherently limited by the volume of blood required, we have developed a more robust multicolor tetramer assay to allow simultaneous analysis of multiple epitopes (or groups of epitopes) in a single staining tube. This approach can also be used to assess the level of cross reactivity between homologous epitopes.
We have applied this multicolor approach to characterize T cell responses in vaccines and subjects with autoimmune disease. Our ongoing work seeks to implement tetramer staining on highly multiplex platforms and to apply these methods to define immunological signatures that reflect disease states and to dissect these signatures to further our understanding of the underlying disease process.
