Simultaneous polyclonal antibody sequencing and epitope mapping by cryo electron microscopy and mass spectrometry
2025 (English)In: eLIFE, E-ISSN 2050-084X, Vol. 14, article id RP101322
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Antibodies are a major component of adaptive immunity against invading pathogens. Here, we explore possibilities for an analytical approach to characterize the antigen-specific antibody repertoire directly from the secreted proteins in convalescent serum. This approach aims to perform simultaneous antibody sequencing and epitope mapping using a combination of single particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) and bottom-up proteomics techniques based on mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We evaluate the performance of the deep-learning tool ModelAngelo in determining de novo antibody sequences directly from reconstructed 3D volumes of antibody-antigen complexes. We demonstrate that while map quality is a critical bottleneck, it is possible to sequence antibody variable domains from cryoEM reconstructions with accuracies of up to 80-90%. While the rate of errors exceeds the typical levels of somatic hypermutation, we show that the ModelAngelo-derived sequences can be used to assign the used V-genes. This provides a functional guide to assemble de novo peptides from LC-MS/MS data more accurately and improves the tolerance to a background of polyclonal antibody sequences. Following this proof-of-principle, we discuss the feasibility and future directions of this approach to characterize antigen-specific antibody repertoires.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd , 2025. Vol. 14, article id RP101322
Keywords [en]
antibody, epitope, repertoire, proteomics, cryoEM, Human, Mouse, Rhesus macaque, Other
National Category
Immunology in the Medical Area
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-364249DOI: 10.7554/eLife.101322ISI: 001473792700001PubMedID: 40266252OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-364249DiVA, id: diva2:1967066
Note
QC 20250611
2025-06-112025-06-112025-10-10Bibliographically approved