Detection and characterization of cellular immune responses using peptide-MHC microarrays.

The detection and characterization of antigen-specific T cell populations is critical for understanding the development and physiology of the immune system and its responses in health and disease. We have developed and tested a method that uses arrays of peptide-MHC complexes for the rapid identification, isolation, activation, and characterization of multiple antigen-specific populations of T cells. CD4(+) or CD8(+) lymphocytes can be captured in accordance with their ligand specificity using an array of peptide-MHC complexes printed on a film-coated glass surface. We have characterized the specificity and sensitivity of a peptide-MHC array using labeled lymphocytes from T cell receptor transgenic mice. In addition, we were able to use the array to detect a rare population of antigen-specific T cells following vaccination of a normal mouse. This approach should be useful for epitope discovery, as well as for characterization and analysis of multiple epitope-specific T cell populations during immune responses associated with viral and bacterial infection, cancer, autoimmunity, and vaccination.