Publications
bioRxivApr 2025 DOI:
10.1101/2025.04.21.649828

Whole-Proteome Screening and Multi-Modal Profiling of Antigen-Specific CD4+ T Cells at Single-Cell Resolution

Zhang, Rongyu; Jin, Qi; McKasson, Michaela; Choi, Jongchan; Gutiérrez, Vanessa; Brennan, Conor; Hong, Sunga; Chour, William; Ng, Raymond T.; Xie, Jingyi; Yuan, Dan; Webster, Andrew; Sidhu, Sachdev S.; Anderson, Abby; Chen, Daniel; Edmark, Rick; Murray, Kim M.; Li, Sarah; McDonald, Connor; Rowen, Lee; Wang, Shuo; Rasheed, Yusuf; Su, Yapeng; Wagner, Jamie R.; Chen, Jie; Narwaly, Karla; Fu, Jiaxin; Duven, Alexandria M.; Forman, Stephen J.; Song, Mihae; Priceman, Saul J.; Brown, Christine E.; Ribas, Antoni; Wong, Deborah; Paulson, Kelly G.; Drescher, Charles W.; Puig-Saus, Cristina; Goldman, Jason D.; Trimble, Cornelia L.; Heath, James R.
Product Used
Genes
Abstract
Systematic whole-proteome screening and comprehensive profiling of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells are crucial for advancing our understanding of CD4+ T cell immunity, yet such efforts remain technically challenging. Here, we present a high-throughput platform that employs large-scale class II single-chain trimer libraries to detect antigen-specific CD4+ T cells, while simultaneously profiling their antigen specificity, TCRα/β sequences, MHC restriction, whole transcriptomes, and patient/timepoint origins at single-cell resolution. We benchmarked SCTs against conventional pMHCs and validated the SCT library-based approach in direct ex vivo identification of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in healthy donors. We then applied the platform to screen the entire SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain in a longitudinal patient cohort, identifying 2,188 antigen-specific CD4+ T cells and revealing key features that define antigen immunogenicity. Extending to cancer, we performed whole-proteome screening of HPV-16 E6/E7 for TCR repertoire profiling in a precancerous cohort, uncovering functional heterogeneity of HPV-specific TCRs. By integrating high-throughput antigen screening with high-dimensional, multi-modal cellular characterization, our approach offers an unprecedented window into CD4+ T cell immunity across diverse disease contexts and empowers the development of new therapies.
Product Used
Genes

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