Pro5® MHC Class I Pentamers | ProImmune

Pro5^® MHC Class I Pentamers

The most consistent technology for detecting antigen-specific T cells

If you are trying to detect a rare population of antigen specific T cells you will understand the importance of having a research tool that is sensitive, accurate and gives reproducible results.

Pro5® MHC Class I Pentamers provide the answer. They bind directly to T cell receptors of a particular specificity, determined by the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) allele and peptide combination. Pro5® Pentamers can be used to detect and separate antigen-specific CD8+ T cell populations as rare as 0.02% of lymphocytes. They are also suitable for detailed epitope characterization and further immune monitoring.

Unlike tetramers from academic and non-profit sources, which may be of variable quality and stability, Pro5® Pentamers benefit from a superior design and are made to a professional standard including many stringent quality control steps. Using the Pentamer technology enables you to achieve accurate and reproducible results.

Product Detail

Custom Pentamers

Pentamer Applications

There are many reasons to choose ProImmune's products for your antigen-specific CD8+ T cell research

Evolution of the tetramer technology: our superior Pro5® MHC Class I Pentamers deliver consistent and reproducible results
Applications data and support: customers rely on our detailed protocols and technical experience to support and enhance their research
Fastest growing list of publications: researchers are citing Pro5® Pentamers in publications more often than MHC tetramers or MHC multimers from any other single source

Features of Pro5® MHC Class I Pentamers
Consistency and reproducibility of results	High avidity of binding to T cell receptor
Flexibility in choice of fluorescent label	Brighter overall fluorescence
Widest range of available complexes	Long term storage

Pro5® Pentamers comprise five MHC-peptide complexes assembled through a coiled-coil domain. Due to their planar configuration, all five MHC-peptide complexes in the Pentamer are available for binding to complementary T cell receptors (TCRs). Each Pro5® Pentamer also comprises up to five fluorescent or biotin tags for bright and efficient labeling. In contrast, the MHC tetramer technology relies on MHC-peptide complexes held in a tetrahedral complex where due to spatial organization no more than three MHC-peptide complexes are available for TCR-binding.

A broad range of MHC Class I complexes specific for a wide range of infectious diseases such as Influenza, CMV, hepatitis B and C, HIV, EBV, as well as cancer-related epitopes are available as Pro5® Pentamers. Simian alleles Mamu-A*01 and Mamu-A*02 are available for SIV research. Additionally, ProImmune has many years experience making custom MHC multimers, specific to customers' requirements and with a high rate of success.

ProImmune has extensive experience in testing Pro5® Pentamer products in-house in a large variety of applications. This enables us to support our customers fully with their relevant application requirements, helping them to make best use of the Pro5® Pentamer technology.

Advantages of Pro5® MHC Class I Pentamers
	Pro5® Pentamers	Tetramers
Avidity & configuration	5 MHC-peptide complexes per Pentamer in the same orientation result in enhanced avidity interaction with T cell receptor (TCR)	MHC-peptide complex held in a tetrahedral configuration typically allowing only 3 MHC-peptide complexes to bind to TCRs
Brightness	Unique labeling technology allows up to 5 fluorescent labels to attach to each Pentamer, yielding brighter signal	By nature, tetramers will have one fluorescent label located at the center of the complex
Labeling flexibility	Biotin-labeled Pentamers and unlabeled Pentamers, which can be labeled with the fluorochrome of choice, maximize the range of possible applications	Tetramers, made by multimerizing biotinylated MHC monomers with fluorescent labeled streptavidin, must be supplied pre-labeled
Stability	Unlabeled Pentamers can be stored long-term at -80°C and then used when required	Tetramers incorporating a fluorochrome must be stored at 4°C, reducing their shelf life

Figure: MHC multimer staining vs. CD8 FITC of peripheral blood (PBMC) samples. 1 x 10⁵ PBMCs with specificity for each antigen shown were stained with either Pro5® Pentamer or MHC tetramer. The figure shows live cells and demonstrates the sensitivity and increase in mean fluorescence intensity when cells are stained with Pentamer vs. tetramer.