PADRE

PADRE (Pan-DR-binding epitope) is a synthetic 13-amino acid peptide with the sequence AKFVAAWTLKAAA. It functions as a universal MHC class II-restricted T-helper epitope designed to bind with high affinity to a broad range of human HLA-DR alleles (covering over 90% of the human population) as well as mouse I-A and I-E molecules. By binding to these MHC class II molecules on antigen-presenting cells, PADRE activates CD4+ T-helper cells, which provide essential signals for the induction and maintenance of robust CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses. PADRE is frequently incorporated into cancer vaccines and infectious disease vaccine candidates to overcome HLA polymorphism and enhance the immunogenicity of target antigens, particularly those that are weakly immunogenic.

Other names

Pan-DR-binding epitopepan HLA-DR epitope peptidePan-DR epitope