NIH Tetramer Core Facility

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tetramer Core Facility (TCF) at Emory University was established in 1999 for the production and distribution to the research community of major histocompatibility complex tetramers and related reagents for the detection of T cell responses to viruses, bacteria, parasites, tumors, auto-antigens, and other model antigens.

More information about this resource is available at NIH Tetramer Core Facility

Main Areas of Focus

  • To encourage research to identify antigen-specific T cells by flow cytometry, even those present at low frequencies in fresh populations of lymphocytes sampled directly ex vivo

Tools

  • Reagents are provided to qualified investigators at no cost, except for shipping and handling fees and in cases where the investigator is asked to provide the TCF with peptide or other appropriate ligands
  • The following classes of reagents are available from the TCF:
    • Class I MHC Tetramers
    • Class II MHC Tetramers
    • Non-classical class I MHC molecules
    • CD1d Ligands o Non-MHC Tetramers
    • Fluorophores and other labels attached to tetramers
    • Novel alleles

Who Can Use This Resource

  • Reagents are provided to qualified investigators at no cost, except for cases where the investigator is asked to provide the TCF with peptide or other appropriate ligands
  • Investigators are not required to have an NIH grant, and they are not required to be based in the United States
  • The NIH Tetramer Core Facility generally does not provide For-profit/Commercial organizations with Class I and Class II MHC tetramers that are commercially available
  • The NIH Tetramer Resource Committee (TRC) will consider For-profit/Commercial requests for reagents that are not commercially available on a case-by-case basis
  • An lab must have established a Principal Investigator account before placing a request on the TCF site

How To Get Started

  • And account can be established by a Principal Investigator (PI) who has previously registered with the TCF
  • New client PI’s should visit the account registration page on the NIH Tetramer Core Facility website
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