In situ visualization of antigen-specific T cells in cryopreserved human tissues

J Immunol Methods. 2006 Mar 20;310(1-2):78-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jim.2005.12.011. Epub 2006 Feb 2.

Abstract

Tetrameric MHC/peptide complexes are important tools for analyzing antigen-specific T cells. The in situ use of tetrameric MHC/peptide complexes in viable tissue sections has several shortcomings: it does not allow the execution of multiple analyses on one single biopsy, the storage of the biopsies, and the co-staining of the tetramer-positive cells for various intracellular molecules. We have developed a novel approach using overnight pre-labeling of viable human tissues with MHC/peptide tetramers, followed by cryopreservation and labeling of the cryosections. The visualization of antigen-specific T cells, combined with detection of other membrane, cytoplasmic, or nuclear markers is now feasible.

MeSH terms

  • Biopsy
  • Cryopreservation
  • Female
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry
  • H-Y Antigen / analysis
  • H-Y Antigen / immunology
  • HLA-A2 Antigen / analysis
  • HLA-A2 Antigen / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Male
  • Skin / cytology
  • Skin / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / cytology
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • H-Y Antigen
  • HLA-A2 Antigen