Insulin β Chain Peptide (15-23), also referred to as INS, is an insulin-derived peptide that is specifically recognized by islet-associated T cells. The tetramer of Insulin β Chain Peptide (15-23) effectively stained the INS-reactive CTL clone G9C8; however, neither this tetramer nor the negative control tetramer (TUM) exhibited staining on the splenic CD8+ T cells obtained from NOD or 8.3-TCRαβ transgenic NOD mice.
Thrombin is a "trypsin-like" serine protease that is encoded by the F2 gene in humans. Thrombin is produced by the enzymatic cleavage of two sites on prothrombin by activated Factor X (Xa). Thrombin in turn acts as a serine protease that converts soluble