A rapid method for detection of antigen-specific B cells

The global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 has united efforts of many scientists all over the world to develop wet-lab techniques and computational approaches aimed at the identification of antigen-specific T and B cells. The latter provide specific humoral immunity that is essential for the survival of COVID-19 patients, and vaccine development has been essentially based on these cells.Here, we implemented an approach that integrates sorting of antigen-specific B cells and B-cell receptor mRNA sequencing (BCR-seq) followed by computational analysis. This rapid and cost-efficient method allowed us to identify antigen-specific B cells in peripheral blood of patients with severe COVID-19 disease. Subsequently, specific BCRs were extracted, cloned, and produced as full antibodies. We confirmed their reactivity toward the spike RBD domain. Such an approach can be effective for monitoring and identification of B cells participating in an individual immune response.

严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2型（SARS-CoV-2）引发的全球大流行，汇聚了全球众多科学家的科研合力，共同开发旨在鉴定抗原特异性T细胞与B细胞（antigen-specific T and B cells）的湿实验技术（wet-lab techniques）与计算方法。其中后者（即B细胞）可介导特异性体液免疫（humoral immunity），这对于新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）患者的存活至关重要，而疫苗研发本质上也依赖此类细胞。本研究采用了一种整合抗原特异性B细胞分选、B细胞受体mRNA测序（BCR-seq）及后续计算分析的实验方案。该方法兼具快速性与成本效益优势，使我们能够在重型COVID-19患者的外周血中鉴定出抗原特异性B细胞。随后，研究人员提取特异性B细胞受体（BCR）序列，进行克隆并制备为完整抗体。我们验证了这些抗体对刺突蛋白受体结合域（spike RBD domain）的结合活性。该方案可有效用于监测和鉴定参与个体免疫应答的B细胞。