Skip to main content

Sequencing and Affinity Determination of Antigen-Specific B Lymphocytes from Peripheral Blood

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Antibody Engineering

Abstract

Here we describe methods for screening human blood to isolate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) capable of binding fluorescently labeled antigen, as well as methods for the amplification and sequencing of B cell receptor (BCR) heavy and light chain genes. Detailed protocols are provided for transient mammalian expression in a hexahistidine-tagged Fab format, purification by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), and affinity determination by BioLayer interferometry (BLI).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Kodituwakku AP, Jessup C, Zola H, Roberton DM (2003) Isolation of antigen-specific B cells. Immunol Cell Biol 81(3):163–170. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1711.2003.01152.x

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Smith K, Garman L, Wrammert J, Zheng NY, Capra JD, Ahmed R, Wilson PC (2009) Rapid generation of fully human monoclonal antibodies specific to a vaccinating antigen. Nat Protoc 4(3):372–384. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2009.3

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Sabouri Z, Schofield P, Horikawa K, Spierings E, Kipling D, Randall KL, Langley D, Roome B, Vazquez-Lombardi R, Rouet R, Hermes J, Chan TD, Brink R, Dunn-Walters DK, Christ D, Goodnow CC (2014) Redemption of autoantibodies on anergic B cells by variable-region glycosylation and mutation away from self-reactivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111(25):E2567–E2575. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1406974111

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Reed JH, Jackson J, Christ D, Goodnow CC (2016) Clonal redemption of autoantibodies by somatic hypermutation away from self-reactivity during human immunization. J Exp Med 213(7):1255–1265. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20151978

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Lee CM, Iorno N, Sierro F, Christ D (2007) Selection of human antibody fragments by phage display. Nat Protoc 2(11):3001–3008. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2007.448

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Rouet R, Lowe D, Dudgeon K, Roome B, Schofield P, Langley D, Andrews J, Whitfeld P, Jermutus L, Christ D (2012) Expression of high-affinity human antibody fragments in bacteria. Nat Protoc 7(2):364–373. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2011.448

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Liu C, Dalby B, Chen W, Kilzer JM, Chiou HC (2008) Transient transfection factors for high-level recombinant protein production in suspension cultured mammalian cells. Mol Biotechnol 39(2):141–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-008-9051-x

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Chiou HC, Vasu S, Liu CY, Cisneros I, Jones MB, Zmuda JF (2014) Scalable transient protein expression. Methods Mol Biol 1104:35–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-733-4_4

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Liu Y, Yi X, Zhuang Y, Zhang S (2015) Limitations in the process of transcription and translation inhibit recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin expression in CHO cells. J Biotechnol 204:63–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2014.12.005

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Wardemann H, Yurasov S, Schaefer A, Young JW, Meffre E, Nussenzweig MC (2003) Predominant autoantibody production by early human B cell precursors. Science 301(5638):1374–1377. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1086907

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Tiller T, Meffre E, Yurasov S, Tsuiji M, Nussenzweig MC, Wardemann H (2008) Efficient generation of monoclonal antibodies from single human B cells by single cell RT-PCR and expression vector cloning. J Immunol Methods 329(1–2):112–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jim.2007.09.017

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Benckert J, Schmolka N, Kreschel C, Zoller MJ, Sturm A, Wiedenmann B, Wardemann H (2011) The majority of intestinal IgA+ and IgG+ plasmablasts in the human gut are antigen-specific. J Clin Invest 121(5):1946–1955. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI44447

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Murugan R, Imkeller K, Busse CE, Wardemann H (2015) Direct high-throughput amplification and sequencing of immunoglobulin genes from single human B cells. Eur J Immunol 45(9):2698–2700. https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.201545526

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Bolotin DA, Poslavsky S, Mitrophanov I, Shugay M, Mamedov IZ, Putintseva EV, Chudakov DM (2015) MiXCR: software for comprehensive adaptive immunity profiling. Nat Methods 12(5):380–381. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3364

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Kozak M (1990) Downstream secondary structure facilitates recognition of initiator codons by eukaryotic ribosomes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 87(21):8301–8305

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Protocols for single-cell sequencing BCR heavy and light chain genes are based on methods originally developed by Smith et al. (Nat Protocols, 2009) and were modified in our laboratory at the Garvan Institute. This work was funded by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, the Australian National Health and Medical Council, the Australian Research Council, and a NSW Health Career Fellowship to Joanne Reed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanne H. Reed .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this protocol

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this protocol

Schofield, P. et al. (2018). Sequencing and Affinity Determination of Antigen-Specific B Lymphocytes from Peripheral Blood. In: Nevoltris, D., Chames, P. (eds) Antibody Engineering. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1827. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8648-4_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8648-4_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8647-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8648-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics