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Mapping the secrets of the antibody pool

Nature Biotechnology volume 35, pages 921–922 (2017)Cite this article

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The progression of antibody-mediated immunity can now be monitored at high-throughput on a single-cell level.

The polyclonal antibody response generates proteins that recognize potentially pathogenic molecules and then orchestrate a series of functions in an effort to protect against disease. Interrogating the ensemble of antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) with respect to the quality, quantity, and sequence of antibodies they produce is essential for a systems-level understanding of humoral immunity and its many roles in fighting infection, clearing apoptotic debris, and regulating immunity. In this issue, Eyer et al.1 describe DropMap, a powerful and elegant technology for the phenotypic analysis of ASCs at the single-cell level with unprecedented throughput and resolution. With this approach, both antibody quality (antigen affinity and selectivity) and antibody secretion can be observed simultaneously over several hours for thousands of ASCs.

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Figure 1: DropMap workflow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jonathan R. McDaniel and George Georgiou are in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA,

    Jonathan R McDaniel & George Georgiou

  2. Gregory C. Ippolito is in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.,

    Gregory C Ippolito

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  1. Jonathan R McDaniel
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  2. Gregory C Ippolito
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  3. George Georgiou
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Correspondence to George Georgiou.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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McDaniel, J., Ippolito, G. & Georgiou, G. Mapping the secrets of the antibody pool. Nat Biotechnol 35, 921–922 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3972

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