Description:
The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is composed of class I and II complexes, which are expressed by nucleated cells in the body. The HLA class system uses specific peptides in order to inform the immune system of the cell's health status. In the case of an abnormal event (e.g., cancer), immunologically-related molecules such as antibodies or lymphocytes bind their cognate HLA-derived peptide and induce the death of the cell through a number of possible effector mechanisms in order to maintain the integrity of the host.
This technology consists of a polylactic-co-glycolic acid particle in the nanometer-micrometer size range with specific peptide/HLA multimers tethered to its outer surface via a PEG linker group, resulting in the particle designated NP-HLA. This NP-HLA particle represents a useful tool to detect molecules with specific reactivity against the peptide/HLA complex or HLA class I/II molecules in biologically relevant solutions such as cell culture media, sera, and buffered liquids (e.g. PBS) for confirmatory, diagnostic, and therapeutic purposes. Overall, the NP-HLA particle is biocompatible, stable, and exhibits intra/inter-assay precision and linearity in detecting specific target binding. The invention represents an alternative format to detect and characterize specific molecular interactions between the peptide/HLA complex or HLA class I/II molecules. This invention can also be utilized as an immune staining reagent.
Reference Number: D-1086
Market Applications:
• Immunoassays
• Possible use in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics studies
• Possible use to determine transplantation suitability
• Immune staining reagent
Features, Benefits and Advantages:
- Less time to detect/characterize interactions
- Greater inter-assay and inter-operator precision
Intellectual Property:
A U.S. Provisional application with the serial number 62/144,427 was filed on April 8, 2015.
Development Stage:
Work on the invention is still continuing.
Researchers:
Jon Weidanz, Immunotherapeutics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, TX
Devin Lowe, Immunotherapeutics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, TX
Oriana Hawkins, Immunotherapeutics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, TX
Keywords: PLGA nanoparticles, PEG linkers, Detection/characterization of molecular interactions, peptide/HLA complex, HLA class I/II molecules, Immunostaining