Highly Multiplexed Detection of Immune Responses to Emerging Infectious Diseases via Lentiviral Surface Display
Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important it is to rapidly detect who has been exposed to an infectious agent, who is most likely to have severe disease, and whether people are protected from emerging viral variants after previous infection or vaccination. Better understanding the COVID pandemic, and being better prepared for whatever viruses may come next, will greatly benefit from the development of cutting-edge tools better able to assess the immune system. In this application, we propose a new technique that uses lentiviruses, a common biotechnology tool, to sensitively assess the blood of people for antibodies against hundreds of possible pathogens simultaneously. By doing so, we can determine what pathogens people have been exposed to, whether vaccines are effective, and what aspects of immunity best correlate with long-lasting protection or severe disease. This application builds upon lentiviral tools we built to study T cell responses, which were funded by a Department of Defense grant in 2017. By creating these tools, we propose a new approach we call ARCADE (Antigen Reactivity Characterization by Antibody-Dependent Entry), which we will use to examine the extent and scope of antibodies able to recognize hundreds of viruses, the ability for antibodies to block entry of these viruses into cells, and what effector functions are activated in the presence of antibodies. We believe this will directly improve our understanding of Emerging Viral Diseases, a PRMRP Topic Area, with particular emphasis on the areas of encouragement of better understanding what aspects of an immune response to a disease are most closely linked to long-lasting protection. As such, we believe this approach can assess threats for Service Members who may be deployed to areas with novel diseases, and serve as a valuable tool to develop therapeutic antibodies and vaccines for the population at large.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210300
Entities
People
- Michael E Birnbaum
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- United States Army