NIH TCF Dev and Prod of SARS-CoV-2 Spike tetramers for B Cell Detection

The NIH Tetramer Core Facility (TCF) distributes high quality reagents for detection of innate T cell and classical CD4 and CD8 T cell populations. This Facility also conducts R&D to produce new reagents and improve existing tetramer technologies. The TCF is producing MHC class I and class II tetramers for isolation and characterization of SARS-CoV2-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells, and is also developing SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein tetramers for detection and characterization of SARS-CoV2 specific B cells. Thus far, 56 MHC tetramers have been distributed to the community, an additional 35 are in-process. Orders are expected to increase as COVID-related research increases. Additional reagents will be produced and distributed as new T cell epitopes and B cell antigen targets are identified. These tetramer reagents will be invaluable tools for evaluation of adaptive immune responses in COVID patients or in response to candidate vaccines.