Next-Generation Serology by Mass Spectrometry: Readout of the SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Repertoire

In collaboration with:

 

Description: Antibody detection methods are used to assess exposure or immunity to a pathogen. We developed Ig-MS, a novel serological readout that captures the immunoglobulin (Ig) repertoire at molecular resolution, including entire variable regions in Ig light and heavy chains. Ig-MS uses recent advances in protein mass spectrometry (MS) for multi-parametric readout of antibodies, with new metrics like Ion Titer (IT) and Degree of Clonality (DoC) capturing the heterogeneity and relative abundance of individual clones without sequencing of B cells. We applied Ig-MS to plasma from subjects with severe and mild COVID-19 and immunized subjects after two vaccine doses, using the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 as the bait for antibody capture. Ig-MS generates a new data type for human serology that could use other antigens of interest to gauge immune responses to vaccination, pathogens, or autoimmune disorders.

 

 

 

Project status: Finalized

Publications:

-Next-Generation Serology by Mass Spectrometry: Readout of the SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Repertoire. 2022. DOI 10.1021/acs.jproteome.1c00882

Congress Presentations:

– HUPO 2021, ASMS 2021

Spinoff funding: Research Corporation (Grant no.27372); Administrative Supplement to SBIR grant number R44 GM121130; Walder Foundation grant number SCI16; Northwestern Medicine Dr. Michael M. Abecassis Transplant Innovation Endowment Grant.