Generation of MHC-peptide tetramers: a new opportunity for dissecting T-cell immune responses

In the past few years, the technical breakthrough in generating MHC-peptide tetramers has revolutionized the analysis of T-cell responses. The major a dvantage of this technique over currently available methods is the ability of these tetramers to label T lymphocytes according to their antigenic spec ificity. The present review describes some technical aspects of tetramers g eneration and discusses some of the numerous possibilities opened up by thi s new technology. (C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS .