Project description:In response to antigen challenge, human B cells clonally expand, undergo selection and differentiate within secondary lymphoid tissues to produce mature B cell subsets and high affinity antibodies necessary for an effective immune response. However, the interplay between affinity, antibody class and different B cell fates has proved challenging to decipher in primary human tissue. We have applied an integrated analysis of bulk and single-cell antibody repertoires paired with single-cell transcriptomics of human B cells from a model secondary lymphoid tissue. Specifically, here we have performed bulk B cell repertoire sequencing of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) for sorted B cell subsets from paediatric tonsil tissue. Matched single-cell gene expression and single-cell VDJ data are also available for the same patient donors.
Project description:We sought to investigate the extent of genetic and antigen-driven predetermination of antibody repertoires throughout B-cell development (pre-B cells, naive B cells, plasma cells). To this end, we used (i) an inbred model organism (mouse, C57BL/6J) to quantify genetic predetermination and (ii) cohort-stratification (4 cohorts: 1 untreated, 3 antigen-immunized) to quantify antigen-driven predetermination. To ensure generalizability of our research, we additionally sequenced naive B cells from Balb/c and pet shop mice.
Project description:Antibody repertoire sequencing of blood and bone marrow plasma cell compartments following lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection. Heavy chain repertoires of 5 uninfected mice, 5 acutely infected mice and 5 chronically infected mice were longitudinally sequenced over 80 days. All samples are named according to the following scheme: dpi#_cohort$_R&.fastq.gz . dpi = days post infection = for all samples following the start of infection. Those samples starting with dm10 correspond to blood samples taken before the introduction of any virus. # = time point post virus infection cohort=acute (LCMV), chronic (LCMV), or naive (uninfected) animals $= mouse number, 1-5 R&=paired read, either R1 or R2 Those samples with \"bmpc\" in title correspond to sorted plasma cells (CD138hi, CD19lo) from bone marrow Example: dpi70_chronic3_R2.fastq.gz == blood repertoire 70 days post chronic LCMV infection in chronically-infected mouse#3
Project description:<p>We developed an improved high throughput sequencing approach to measure the quantities and sequences of the repertoire of antibody heavy chain RNA in a blood sample. Using this approach we analyzed the antibody repertoire in response to yearly vaccinations with influenza vaccines TIV and LAIV in healthy adults in two subsequent years. We determined vaccine response patterns specific to LAIV and TIV and found antibody sequences that were shared between two samples of the same individuals following influenza vaccination in subsequent years, thereby providing a genetic measurement of B-cell memory recall.</p>
Project description:<p>We developed an improved high throughput sequencing approach to measure the quantities and sequences of the repertoire of antibody heavy chain RNA in a blood sample. Using this approach we analyzed the antibody repertoire in response to yearly vaccinations with influenza vaccines TIV and LAIV in healthy adults in two subsequent years. We determined vaccine response patterns specific to LAIV and TIV and found antibody sequences that were shared between two samples of the same individuals following influenza vaccination in subsequent years, thereby providing a genetic measurement of B-cell memory recall.</p>
| phs000656.v1.p1 | EGA
Project description:Characterization of heavy-chain antibody gene repertoires in Bactrian camels
Project description:Throughout life, humans experience repeated exposure to viral antigens through infection and vaccination, resulting in the generation of diverse, and largely unique, antigen specific antibody repertoires. A paramount feature of antibodies that enables their critical contributions in counteracting recurrent and novel pathogens, and consequently fostering their utility as valuable targets for therapeutic and vaccine development, is the exquisite specificity displayed against their target antigens. Yet, there is still limited understanding of the determinants of antibody-antigen specificity, particularly as a function of antibody sequence. In recent years, experimental characterization of antibody repertoires has led to novel insights into fundamental properties of antibody sequences, but has been largely decoupled from at-scale antigen specificity analysis. Here, using the LIBRA-seq technology, we generated a large dataset mapping antibody sequence to antigen specificity for thousands of B cells, by screening the repertoires of a set of healthy individuals against twenty viral antigens representing diverse pathogens of biomedical significance. Analysis uncovered virus specific patterns in variable gene usage, gene pairing, somatic hypermutation, as well as the presence of convergent antiviral signatures across multiple individuals, including the presence of public antibody clonotypes. Notably, our results showed that, for B cell receptors originating from different individuals but leveraging an identical combination of heavy and light chain variable genes, there is a specific CDRH3/CDRL3 identity threshold that defines whether these B cells may share the same antigen specificity. This finding provides a quantifiable measure of the relationship between antibody sequence and antigen specificity and further defines experimentally grounded criteria for defining public antibody clonality. Understanding the fundamental rules of antibody-antigen interactions can lead to transformative new approaches for the development of antibody therapeutics and vaccines against current and emerging viruses.
Project description:Aging individuals exhibit a pervasive decline in adaptive immune function, with important implications for health and lifespan. Previous studies have found a pervasive loss of immune-repertoire diversity in human peripheral blood; however, little is known about repertoire aging in other immune compartments, or in species other than humans. Here, we perform the first study of immune-repertoire aging in an emerging model of vertebrate aging, the African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri). Despite their extremely short lifespans, these killifish exhibit complex and individualised heavy-chain repertoires, with a generative process capable of producing millions of distinct productive sequences. Whole-body killifish repertoires decline rapidly in within-individual diversity with age, while between-individual variability increases. Large, expanded B-cell clones exhibit far greater diversity loss with age than small clones, suggesting an important difference in the age-sensitivity of different B cell populations. Compared to the whole body, the immune repertoires of isolated intestinal samples exhibit much more dramatic age-related phenotypes, apparently due to an elevated prevalence of age-sensitive expanded clones. Our results highlight the importance of organ-specific dynamics in adaptive immunosenescence.