Droplet-based microfluidics enables assays to be carried out at very high throughput (up to thousands of samples per second) and enables researchers to work with very limited material, such as primary cells, patient's biopsies or expensive reagents. An additional strength of the technology is the possibility to perform large-scale genotypic or phenotypic screens at the single-cell level. Here we critically review the latest developments in antibody screening, drug discovery and highly multiplexed genomic applications such as targeted genetic workflows, single-cell RNAseq and single-cell ChIPseq. Starting with a comprehensive introduction for non-experts, we pinpoint current limitations, analyze how they might be overcome and give an outlook on exciting future applications.

SummaryMonoclonal antibodies are a main player in modern drug discovery. Many antibody screening formats exist, each with specific advantages and limitations. Nonetheless, it remains challenging to screen antibodies for the binding of cell-surface receptors (the most important class of all drug targets) or for the binding to target cells rather than purified proteins. Here, we present a high-throughput droplet microfluidics approach employing dual-color normalized fluorescence readout to detect antibody binding. This enables us to obtain quantitative data on target cell recognition, using as little as 33 fg of IgG per assay. Starting with an excess of hybridoma cells releasing unspecific antibodies, individual clones secreting specific binders (of target cells co-encapsulated into droplets) could be enriched 220-fold after sorting 80,000 clones in a single experiment. This opens the way for therapeutic antibody discovery, especially since the single-cell approach is in principle also applicable to primary human plasma cells.

No abstract

Influenza virus evades host immunity through antigenic drift and shift, and continues to circulate in the human population causing periodic outbreaks including the recent 2009 pandemic. A large segment of the population was potentially susceptible to this novel strain of virus. Historically, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been fundamental tools for diagnosis and epitope mapping of influenza viruses and their importance as an alternate treatment option is also being realized. The current study describes isolation of a high affinity (K D = 2.1±0.4 pM) murine MAb, MA2077 that binds specifically to the hemagglutinin (HA) surface glycoprotein of the pandemic virus. The antibody neutralized the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus in an in vitro microneutralization assay (IC50 = 0.08 µg/ml). MA2077 also showed hemagglutination inhibition activity (HI titre of 0.50 µg/ml) against the pandemic virus. In a competition ELISA, MA2077 competed with the binding site of the human MAb, 2D1 (isolated from a survivor of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic) on pandemic H1N1 HA. Epitope mapping studies using yeast cell-surface display of a stable HA1 fragment, wherein ‘Sa’ and ‘Sb’ sites were independently mutated, localized the binding site of MA2077 within the ‘Sa’ antigenic site. These studies will facilitate our understanding of antigen antibody interaction in the context of neutralization of the pandemic influenza virus.

The 2009 pandemic H1N1 S-OIV (swine origin influenza A virus) caused noticeable morbidity and mortality worldwide. In addition to vaccine and antiviral drug therapy, the use of influenza virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for treatment purposes is a viable alternative. We previously reported the isolation of a high affinity, potently neutralizing murine MAb MA2077 against 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus. We describe here the humanization of MA2077 and its expression in a mammalian cell line. Six complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of MA2077 were grafted onto the human germline variable regions; along with six and eight back mutations in the framework of heavy and light chains, respectively, pertaining to the vernier zone and interchain packing residues to promote favorable CDR conformation and facilitate antigen binding. The full length humanized antibody, 2077Hu2, expressed in CHO-K1 cells, showed high affinity to hemagglutinin protein (KD = 0.75 ± 0.32 nM) and potent neutralization of pandemic H1N1 virus (IC50 = 0.17 μg/mL), with marginally higher IC50 as compared to MA2077 (0.08 μg/mL). In addition, 2077Hu2 also retained the epitope specificity for the "Sa" antigenic site on pandemic HA. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a humanized neutralizing antibody against pandemic H1N1 virus.

No abstract

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) provide scope for the development of better therapeutics and diagnostic tools. Herein, we describe the binding and neutralization profile(s) for a panel of murine MAbs generated against influenza A H1N1 viruses elicited by immunization with pandemic H1 recombinant hemagglutinin (rHA)/whole virus or seasonal H1 rHA. Neutralizing MAbs, MA-2070 and MA-M, were obtained after pandemic A/California/07/2009 (H1N1) virus/rHA immunization(s). Both MAbs reacted specifically with rHA from A/California/07/2009 and A/England/195/2009 in ELISA. MA-2070 bound rHA of A/California/07/2009 with high affinity (KD = 51.36 ± 9.20 nM) and exhibited potent in vitro neutralization (IC50 = 2.50 μg/mL). MA-2070 bound within the stem domain of HA. MA-M exhibited both hemagglutination inhibition (HI, 1.50 μg/mL) and in vitro neutralization (IC50 = 0.66 μg/mL) activity against the pandemic A/California/07/2009 virus and showed higher binding affinity (KD = 9.80 ± 0.67 nM) than MA-2070. MAb, MA-H generated against the seasonal A/Solomon Islands/03/2006 (H1N1) rHA binds within the head domain and bound the seasonal H1N1 (A/Solomon Islands/03/2006 and A/New Caledonia/20/1990) rHAs with high affinity (KD; 0.72-8.23 nM). MA-H showed high HI (2.50 μg/mL) and in vitro neutralization (IC50 = 2.61 μg/mL) activity against the A/Solomon Islands/03/2006 virus. All 3 MAbs failed to react in ELISA with rHA from various strains of H2N2, H3N2, H5N1, H7N9, and influenza virus B, suggesting their specificity for either pandemic or seasonal H1N1 influenza virus. The MAbs reported here may be useful in developing diagnostic assays.