Paul Thomas @pgtimmune.bsky.social · 04/09/2026T cells recognize peptide MHC through paired alpha beta T cell receptors. We often find strong antigen associated motifs in one chain, but can one chain alone tell us what a T cell recognizes? 110 1
Paul Thomas @pgtimmune.bsky.social · 04/09/2026We developed a way to hold one TCR chain constant, then let it pair with the enormous natural repertoire of partner chains from healthy donor T cells. In effect, a fixed chain becomes a biological search engine for compatible partners. 110 1
Paul Thomas @pgtimmune.bsky.social · 04/09/2026The first surprise was that pairing itself is easy. More than 94% of tested alpha beta combinations formed stable receptors on the cell surface. But surface expression is not the same as antigen recognition. 110 1
