Patent ID: 7439335

Claim:
A synthetic antigen presenting matrix for activating CD4 + T cells comprising: a) a support; b) an extracellular portion of a MHC class II heterodimer operably linked to the support and capable of loading a selected peptide; and c) an extracellular portion of at least one accessory molecule operably linked to the support such that the extracellular portions of the MHC class II heterodimer and accessory molecule are present on the matrix in sufficient numbers for activating CD4 + T cells when a peptide is loaded onto the extracellular portion of the heterodimer, wherein the accessory molecule is selected from the group consisting of: a costimulatory molecule which is B7.1 or B7.2; an adhesion molecule which is ICAM-1, ICAM-2, ICAM-3, LFA-1 or LFA-3; and a survival molecule which is Fas ligand, TNF-receptor or CD70; and wherein at least one of the MHC class II heterodimer and the accessory molecule is not naturally linked to the support.