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
.