In addition to the application for the immune function research, specific T-cell clones also can be used for antigens discovery in vitro. Equipped with world-leading technology platforms, Creative Biolabs provides tumor-associated antigens (TAA) identification services by T-cell expression cloning for our worldwide customers.
What is T-Cell Expression Cloning?
T lymphocyte (or T cell), a kind of leukocyte originated from the thymus gland, is an essential member of the immune system. T cell-mediated cellular immunity plays a central role in acquired immunity and specific immune response. In cellular immunity, once entering the body, antigens are phagocytized and processed by phagocytes and presented to T cells. Naive T cells differentiate, proliferate and transform into activated effector T cells and memory T cells when encountering the presented antigens. The effector T cells attack target cells with the help of the various released cytokines to exert an immune effect.
Based on the process of T cell-mediated cellular immunity, antigen-specific T cell clones can be isolated from peripheral blood cells of immunized individuals. These isolated T cell clones not only are probably utilized for immunity studies in vitro, but also for various antigens discovery or identification and adoptive immunotherapy as useful tools.
Fig.1 Overview of T cell clone generation. (Neller, 2014)
T-Cell Expression Cloning for TAA Identification
TAAs expressed on the tumor cells or viral tumor antigens induce specific anti-tumor immune responses to suppress the outgrowth of cancer cells or eliminate viral infections. Several types of T cells, such as helper T cells, effector CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, are involved in thees anti-tumor immune responses. Different subsets of TAA-specific T cells can be detected and isolated from the peripheral blood or tumor sites of cancer patients. Taking full advantage of specific anti-TAA T-cell responses, these isolated T cell clones can be expressed and expanded in vitro for the TAA identification.
The commonly used T cell expression cloning involves stimulation of the unselected precursor by TAA for one or several rounds before limiting dilution cloning to increase the number of TAA-specific T cells. Another approach for T cell expression cloning is the direct expansion of the specific T cell in vitro after sorting the single T cells by labeling peptide-major histocompatibility complex. Other improved and effective T cell expression cloning methods are being explored for better applications for TAA identification and cancer immunotherapy.
Highlights of Our Services
By providing high-quality and customized solutions and services, Creative Biolabs is a reliable partner for your TAA discovery and identification projects. If you are considering using the T cell expression cloning for the TAA identification, please do not hesitate to contact us for more details.
Reference
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