The NIH Tetramer Facility is supported through National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) contract 75N93020D00005, which includes co-funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NIAID and NCI are components of the National Institutes of Health in the Department of Health and Human Services.
 

Notice Regarding Operations During the U.S. Government Shutdown

The NIH Tetramer Core Facility remains operational for previously approved orders. However, all new incoming requests must undergo review by NIH staff. Due to the current U.S. government shutdown, our NIH colleagues responsible for this review process are presently furloughed and unable to evaluate any submissions received after September 30, 2025.

While order submissions through this website remain open, we are unable to initiate work on newly submitted requests until the shutdown has concluded and NIH review activities resume.

Please also anticipate additional delays once normal operations restart, as a significant backlog of pending requests will require processing. Our facility operates with limited capacity, and recovery from the interruption will take time.

Facility Description

Purpose: The NIH Tetramer Core Facility (TCF) at Emory University was established in 1999 for the production and distribution to the research community of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) tetramers and related reagents for the detection of T cell responses to viruses, bacteria, parasites, tumors, auto-antigens, and other model antigens. The TCF is funded by contract 75N93020D00005 via the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Reagents are provided to qualified investigators at no cost, except for shipping and handling fees and in cases where the investigator is asked to provide the TCF with peptide or other appropriate ligands. Investigators are not required to have an NIH grant, and they are not required to be based in the US.

Summary Statistics

These summary indicators provide a snapshot of the NIH Tetramer Core Facility’s reach and influence in supporting immunology research worldwide.
Orders Distributed 71,509
Labs Provided Materials 4,814
Unique Reagents Distributed 5,236
Total Unique Alleles Distributed 281
Unique Class I Alleles Distributed 163
Unique Class II Alleles Distributed 88
Curated Citations in Publications 1,530
Curated Citing Journals 235

Why Tetramers?

T cells play essential effector and regulatory roles in adaptive immune responses to viruses, bacteria, parasites, tumors, transplanted tissues, allergens and even to self antigens. Antigen-specific T cell responses can be detected by functional assays—e.g. lymphoproliferation assays, cytotoxic T cell assays using chromium release, and cytokine production assays such as the ELISpot assay and intracellular cytokine staining—or by antigen-binding methods.

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