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Nature Medicine 6, 1406 - 1410 (2000)
doi:10.1038/82231

Artificial antigen-presenting cells as a tool to exploit the immune `synapse'

Berent Prakken1, Marca Wauben2, Davide Genini3, Rodrigo Samodal1, Joellen Barnett1, Alberto Mendivil1, Lorenzo Leoni3 & Salvatore Albani1,4

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093–0663, USA
  2. Department of Infectious Diseases & Immunology, Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, PO Box 80165, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands
  3. Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0663, USA
  4. Androclus Therapeutics, Contrada Torre Allegra, 95030 Catania, Italy

Correspondence to: Salvatore Albani1,4 e-mail: salbani@ucsd.edu


Recent progress in molecular medicine has provided important tools to identify antigen-specific T cells. In most cases, the approach is based on oligomeric combinations of recombinant major histocompatibility complex–peptide complexes fixed to various rigid supports available for binding by the T-cell receptor1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. These tools have greatly increased our insight into mechanisms of immune responses mediated by CD8+ T cells1, 2. Examples of the diverse fields of application for this technology include immunization, viral infections and oral tolerance induction1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.