SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Adaptive Biotechnologies, the leader in combining next-generation sequencing and expert bioinformatics to profile T-cell and B-cell receptors (TCRs and BCRs) of the adaptive immune system, today published a study detailing a powerful new tool that enables sensitive and quantitative monitoring of T cells specific for hundreds, and possibly thousands, of antigens simultaneously and in a single experiment.
“Immunosequencing allows sensitive and quantitative detection of all T and B cells in a sample and has allowed many new insights into the immune system. However, it does not provide information about antigen specificity,” said Malek Faham, M.D., Ph.D. Senior Vice President, Innovation at Adaptive Biotechnologies, and senior author of the study. “This approach extends the power of immunosequencing by allowing precise identification of T cells specific to large numbers of antigens.”
Previous work demonstrated the ability to combine conventional immune monitoring assays, which enable identification of populations of T cells that either bind to or respond to antigens, with immunosequencing to identify T cells specific to one particular antigen. This new study builds upon these results by pooling multiple antigens together in different combinations. The number of antigens that can be assessed in a single experiment increases exponentially with the number of pools created. The high sensitivity of the assay allows antigen-specific T cells to be detected at frequencies as low as one per million total T cells.
"With this new multiplex technology we now have the ability to assign antigen-specificity to TCR sequences at a massive scale,” said Harlan Robins, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder at Adaptive Biotechnologies. “Combined with our first-in-class technology for pairing TCR alpha and beta chain sequences at high throughput, we now have the tools needed for efficient identification of functional immune receptors, which may lead to tremendous advancements in biomarker discovery and therapeutic development."
The study, “Multiplex Identification of Antigen-Specific T Cell Receptors Using a Combination of Immune Assays and Immune Receptor Sequencing,” by Klinger, et al. was published online today in PLOS ONE.
About Adaptive Biotechnologies®
Adaptive Biotechnologies is the pioneer and leader in combining high-throughput sequencing and expert bioinformatics to profile T-cell and B-cell receptors. Adaptive is bringing the accuracy and sensitivity of its immunosequencing platform into laboratories around the world to drive groundbreaking research in cancer and other immune-mediated diseases. Adaptive also translates immunosequencing discoveries into clinical diagnostics and therapeutic development to improve patient care.
