This technology is a method to determine if CD8+ T cells are able to recognize a key signaling molecule involved in the maintenance of immune self-tolerance.
Current immunotherapeutic drugs have several side effects, including reduced anti-infection and anti-tumor immunity. A previously described “avidity model” to understand how peripheral immune responses, to both self and foreign antigens, are regulated permits clinical interventions to treat autoimmune diseases by selectively inhibiting intermediate avidity T cells. However, while the recognition of T cell targets can be successfully blocked, the actual target structure that can be used for this technique is not known and methods to assay the health of the CD8+ T cells are limited.
This technology is a method to determine the ability of CD8+ T cells to functionally recognize specific antigen target structure, including HLA class I histocompatibility antigen alpha chain E (HLA-E) bound to the signal sequence of Hsp60. The CD8+ T cells are exposed to two populations of cells (loaded with either the antigen of interest or a non-reactive peptide) and the levels of proliferation of each of the test populations of cells are quantified and compared. The resulting levels provide an assessment of the health of the CD8+ T cells, the risk of developing autoimmunity, as well as their potential to respond to corrective therapy.
This technology has been validated in vivo in several mouse models of autoimmune disorders.
IR 1799-b
Licensing Contact: Sara Gusik