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Phelps A, Pazos-Castro D, Urselli F, Grydziuszko E, Mann-Delany O, Fang A, Walker TD, Guruge RT, Tome-Amat J, Diaz-Perales A, Waserman S, Boonyaratanakornkit J, Jordana M, Taylor JJ, Koenig JFE. Production and use of antigen tetramers to study antigen-specific B cells. Nat Protoc 2024; 19:727-751. [PMID: 38243093 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00930-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
B cells generate antibodies that provide protection from infection, but also cause pathology in autoimmune and allergic conditions. Antigen-specific B cells can be detected by binding their surface antibody receptors with native antigens conjugated to fluorescent probes, a technique that has revealed substantial insight into B cell activation and function. This protocol describes the process of generating fluorescent antigen tetramer probes and delineates a process of enriching large samples based on antigen-specificity for high-resolution analyses of the antigen-specific B cell repertoire. Enrichment of tetramer-binding cells allows for detection of antigen-specific B cells as rare as 1 in 100 million cells, providing sufficient resolution to study naive B cells and IgE-expressing cells by flow cytometry. The generation of antigen tetramers involves antigen biotinylation, assessment of biotin:antigen ratio for optimal tetramer loading and polymerization around a streptavidin-fluorophore backbone. We also describe the construction of a control tetramer to exclude B cells binding to the tetramer backbone. We provide a framework to validate whether tetramer probes are detecting true antigen-specific B cells and discuss considerations for experimental design. This protocol can be performed by researchers trained in basic biomedical/immunological research techniques, using instrumentation commonly found in most laboratories. Constructing the antigen and control tetramers takes 9 h, though their specificity should be assessed before experimentation and may take weeks to months depending on the method of validation. Sample enrichment requires ~2 h but is generally time and cost neutral as fewer cells are run through the flow cytometer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allyssa Phelps
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Diego Pazos-Castro
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Biotechnology-Plant Biology, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francesca Urselli
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Emily Grydziuszko
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Olivia Mann-Delany
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Allison Fang
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tina D Walker
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rangana Talpe Guruge
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jaime Tome-Amat
- Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Araceli Diaz-Perales
- Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Biotechnology-Plant Biology, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Susan Waserman
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jim Boonyaratanakornkit
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Manel Jordana
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Justin J Taylor
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
| | - Joshua F E Koenig
- Department of Medicine, Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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