Protein purification and crystallization of HLA-A*02:01 in complex with SARS-CoV-2 peptides

Understanding T-cell responses requires identifying viral peptides presented by human leukocyte antigens (HLAs). X-ray crystallography can be used to visualize their presentation. This protocol describes the expression, purification, and crystallization of HLA-A*02:01, one of the most frequent HLA in the global population in complex with peptides derived from the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. This protocol can be applied to different HLA class I molecules bound to other peptides.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Szeto et al. (2021).

Automated summary

This protocol outlines the expression, purification, and crystallization of HLA-A*02:01 in complex with peptides derived from the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, providing a method for visualizing viral peptides presented by HLAs for understanding T-cell responses.