Old questions, new tools: does next-generation sequencing hold the key to unraveling intestinal B-cell responses?
Analysis of the intestinal B-cell system and properties of immunoglobulin A, the main antibody isotype produced in the gut, has dominated the rise of mucosal immunology as a discipline. Seminal work established concepts describing the induction, transport, and function of mucosal antibodies. Still, open questions remain and we lack a comprehensive view of how the various sites and pathways of immunoglobulin A induction are integrated to respond to gut antigens. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) offers a novel approach to study B-cell responses, which might substantially enhance our tool box to answer key questions in the field and to take the next steps toward therapeutic exploitation of the mucosal B-cell system. In this review we discuss the potential, challenges, and emerging solutions for gut B-cell repertoire analysis by NGS.
Institute of Molecular Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
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Pabst
The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
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Hazanov
The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
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D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D007422:Intestines / Q000276:immunology*; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000235:genetics*
D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell