Cell biology 

In vitro stimulation of antigen-specific T cells with PepTivator Peptide Pools causes the secretion of effector cytokines and the up-regulation of activation markers, which then allow the detection and isolation of antigen-specific T cells.

Background information
GAD65 is expressed by pancreatic β cells and appears to be an important autoantigen involved in the onset and pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes.

Downstream applications
PepTivator GAD65 – research grade has been specifically developed for efficient in vitro stimulation of GAD65-specific T cells. Peptides of 15 amino acids in length and 11 amino acids overlap represent an optimized solution for stimulating both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in various applications, including:

• Detection and analysis of GAD65-specific effector/memory T cells in PBMCs by MACS® Cytokine Secretion Assays, intracellular cytokine staining, or other technologies.
• Isolation of viable GAD65-specific CD4+ T cells with the CD154 MicroBead Kit, or of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells using the CD137 MicroBead Kit or MACS Cytokine Secretion Assay – Cell Enrichment and Detection Kits. Subsequently, cells can be expanded for generation of T cell lines.
• Generation of GAD65-specific effector/memory T cells from naive T cell populations.
• Pulsing of antigen-presenting cells.