Antigens of the immune system directly identified using fluorescent light

Researchers at Ludwig Maximilian University and the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology have used engineering techniques to directly identify the antigens that initiate attacks of body tissues in the immune system.

The new method has been generated by using cells that emit green fluorescent light when stimulated by the binding of a cognate antigen. The fluorescence technology is based on the isolation of T cells present in samples of affected tissues taken from patients with autoimmune diseases.

Even though the immune system is a vital defence mechanism, it can also attack host tissues, which leads to autoimmune diseases. The antigens that induce destructive immune reactions were not previously visible directly, but this new method allows researchers to conduct more in-depth analysis of the system.

Dr. Klaus Dornmair, of the Institute for Clinical Neuroimmunology at LMU and the Department of Neuroimmunology at the MPI for Neurobiology, led the research team, which recovered the genetic blueprints for the specific antigen-binding T-cell receptors (TCRs) produced by these cells, which contains a version of the gene for the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) that is specifically expressed if a TCR is activated.

Posted by Fiona Griffiths