Design and validation of conditional ligands for HLA‐B08:01, HLA‐B15:01, HLA‐B35:01, and HLA‐B44:05

We designed conditional ligands restricted to HLA‐B*08:01, −B*35:01, and −B*44:05 and proved the use of a conditional ligand previously designed for HLA‐B*15:02 together with HLA‐B*15:01. Furthermore, we compared the detection capabilities of specific HLA‐B*15:01‐restricted T cells using the HLA‐B*15:01 and HLA‐B*15:02 major histocompatibility complex (MHC) multimers and found remarkable differences in the staining patterns detected by flow cytometry. These new conditional ligands greatly add to the application of MHC‐based technologies in the analyses of T‐cell recognition as they represent frequently expressed HLA‐B molecules. This expansion of conditional ligands is important to allow T‐cell detection over a wide range of HLA restrictions, and provide comprehensive understanding of the T‐cell recognition in a given context. © 2015 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry