Tetramer visualization of gut-homing gluten-specific T cells in the peripheral blood of celiac disease patients

Tetramers of MHC–peptide complexes are used for detection and characterization of antigen-specific T cell responses, but they require knowledge about both antigenic peptide and the MHC restriction element. The successful application of these reagents in human diseases involving CD4 + T cells is limited. Celiac disease, an intestinal inflammation driven by mucosal CD4 + T cells recognizing wheat gluten peptides in the context of disease-associated HLA-DQ molecules, is an ideal model to test the potential clinical use of these reagents. We investigated whether gluten-specific T cells can be detected in the peripheral blood of celiac disease patients using DQ2 tetramers. Nine DQ2 + patients a…