Cloning and Expression of H2-D(b) for Future Experimental Studies on its Role in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by damage to neuronal fatty myelin sheaths and neuronal dysfunction. Studies have shown that tg mice expressing a T cell receptor reactive to GFAP can succumb to spontaneous autoimmunity with pathologies comparable to MS. This study focused on the expression of a MHC-I type H2-D(b) Beta-2m receptor domain in pBac & cloning H2-D(b) into pLM-1 expression vector. The Beta-2m domain expression vector was transformed into BL21 cells, expression was confirmed via SDS-PAGE. The H2-D(b) genes were then successfully cloned into the pLM-1 expression vector. Expression of Beta-2m receptor domain and of H2-Db/GFAP ligand complex will be used for further experimentation to observe abnormalities within the H2-D(b) epitope and its role in MS