High-Throughput Production of Class I MHC Tetramers for Immunological Studies Using Chaperone-Mediated Peptide Exchange
Phan HAT, Sgourakis NG. High-Throughput Production of Class I MHC Tetramers for Immunological Studies Using Chaperone-Mediated Peptide Exchange. Methods Mol Biol. 2026;3007:1-12. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-5092-9_1. PMID: 41478999.
Abstract
The production of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class I proteins bound to different peptides of interest is essential for many immunological studies. However, the preparation of MHC-I molecules, whether wild-type or engineered, requires in vitro refolding with a high-affinity peptide, which stabilizes the complex, leading to a sufficient protein yield. This presents a challenge for subsequent peptide exchange reactions, commonly used to generate pMHC-I tetramer libraries. Here, we describe an optimized protocol for chaperone-mediated exchange of a high-affinity placeholder peptide for an array of target peptides. Using this protocol, a pMHC-I tetramer library encompassing 135 different antigen specificities can be produced within 3 days.