HLA tetramers complexed with EBV peptides detect virus-specific CD8 T cells in the peripheral blood of EBV⁺individuals.

PBMCs were isolated from 3 EBV⁺ individuals and stained with mAbs specific for CD8 and CD62L and with HLA tetramers complexed with EBV epitopes. The HLA-A and HLA-B alleles expressed by these individuals and the HLA/epitope complexes used for staining are indicated above each dot-plot. Each dot-plot is gated on live CD8⁺ T cells, and the percentage of CD8 T cells staining with HLA tetramers is indicated in the upper quadrants of each plot.