https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/hyunseo-kwon/week-01-hw-project-ideas/index.htmlBiomanufacturing a β2m-Engineered HLA-E Peptide-Capture Reagent Panel HTBAA Homework #1 | A discovery tool for cryptic, low-affinity HLA-E ligands Question Proposal What I will make A 20-member research-use panel of soluble HLA-E complexes, each paired with a different β2-microglobulin (β2m) variant and supplied as a peptide-receptive capture reagent. Living chassis Suspension HEK293 cells that secrete correctly folded, glycosylated HLA-E–β2m complexes into defined medium. Automation AlphaFold/Rosetta triage, robotic liquid handling for expression and peptide-loading screens, and automated sample preparation and data analysis for LC–MS/MS. Meaningful scale 100 discovery kits: 20 variants × 0.10 mg per variant × 100 kits, plus 25% manufacturing overage = 250 mg finished protein. Central hypothesis. Changing the β2m partner can tune HLA-E complex persistence enough to preserve weakly bound peptides that are normally lost during handling. The engineered β2m is a discovery aid—not proof that a recovered peptide is physiologically presented. Every candidate peptide would therefore be re-tested with wild-type human β2m and functional NK-cell assays.Hugoen