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Corcoran MM, Karlsson Hedestam GB. Adaptive immune receptor germline gene variation. Curr Opin Immunol 2024; 87:102429. [PMID: 38805851 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2024.102429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Recognition of antigens by T cell receptors (TCRs) and B cell receptors (BCRs) is a key step in lymphocyte activation. T and B cells mediate adaptive immune responses, which protect us against infections and provide immunological memory, and also, in some instances, drive pathogenic responses in autoimmune diseases. TCRs and BCRs are encoded within loci that are known to be genetically diverse. However, the extent and functional impact of this variation, both in humans and model animals used in immunological research, remain largely unknown. Experimental and genetic evidence has demonstrated that the complementarity determining regions 1 and 2 (HCDR1 and HCDR2), encoded by the variable (V) region of TCRs and BCRs, also often make critical contacts with the targeted antigen. Thus, knowledge about allelic variation in the genes encoding TCRs and BCRs is critically important for understanding adaptive immune responses in outbred populations and to define responder and non-responder phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin M Corcoran
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
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Peres A, Lees WD, Rodriguez OL, Lee NY, Polak P, Hope R, Kedmi M, Collins AM, Ohlin M, Kleinstein S, Watson C, Yaari G. IGHV allele similarity clustering improves genotype inference from adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing data. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:e86. [PMID: 37548401 PMCID: PMC10484671 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In adaptive immune receptor repertoire analysis, determining the germline variable (V) allele associated with each T- and B-cell receptor sequence is a crucial step. This process is highly impacted by allele annotations. Aligning sequences, assigning them to specific germline alleles, and inferring individual genotypes are challenging when the repertoire is highly mutated, or sequence reads do not cover the whole V region. Here, we propose an alternative naming scheme for the V alleles, as well as a novel method to infer individual genotypes. We demonstrate the strengths of the two by comparing their outcomes to other genotype inference methods. We validate the genotype approach with independent genomic long-read data. The naming scheme is compatible with current annotation tools and pipelines. Analysis results can be converted from the proposed naming scheme to the nomenclature determined by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS). Both the naming scheme and the genotype procedure are implemented in a freely available R package (PIgLET https://bitbucket.org/yaarilab/piglet). To allow researchers to further explore the approach on real data and to adapt it for their uses, we also created an interactive website (https://yaarilab.github.io/IGHV_reference_book).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayelet Peres
- Faculty of Engineering, Bar Ilan University, 5290002 Ramat Gan, Israel
- Bar Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar Ilan University, 5290002 Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - William D Lees
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, WC1E 7JE, UK
| | - Oscar L Rodriguez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA
| | - Noah Y Lee
- Program in Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Pazit Polak
- Faculty of Engineering, Bar Ilan University, 5290002 Ramat Gan, Israel
- Bar Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar Ilan University, 5290002 Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Ronen Hope
- Faculty of Engineering, Bar Ilan University, 5290002 Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Meirav Kedmi
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
- Division of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, 5262000, Israel
- Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, 69978, Israel
| | - Andrew M Collins
- School of Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Mats Ohlin
- Department of Immunotechnology Lund University, Lund, 221 00, Sweden
| | - Steven H Kleinstein
- Program in Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Corey T Watson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA
| | - Gur Yaari
- Faculty of Engineering, Bar Ilan University, 5290002 Ramat Gan, Israel
- Bar Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar Ilan University, 5290002 Ramat Gan, Israel
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Vieira MC, Palm AKE, Stamper CT, Tepora ME, Nguyen KD, Pham TD, Boyd SD, Wilson PC, Cobey S. Germline-encoded specificities and the predictability of the B cell response. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011603. [PMID: 37624867 PMCID: PMC10484431 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibodies result from the competition of B cell lineages evolving under selection for improved antigen recognition, a process known as affinity maturation. High-affinity antibodies to pathogens such as HIV, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2 are frequently reported to arise from B cells whose receptors, the precursors to antibodies, are encoded by particular immunoglobulin alleles. This raises the possibility that the presence of particular germline alleles in the B cell repertoire is a major determinant of the quality of the antibody response. Alternatively, initial differences in germline alleles' propensities to form high-affinity receptors might be overcome by chance events during affinity maturation. We first investigate these scenarios in simulations: when germline-encoded fitness differences are large relative to the rate and effect size variation of somatic mutations, the same germline alleles persistently dominate the response of different individuals. In contrast, if germline-encoded advantages can be easily overcome by subsequent mutations, allele usage becomes increasingly divergent over time, a pattern we then observe in mice experimentally infected with influenza virus. We investigated whether affinity maturation might nonetheless strongly select for particular amino acid motifs across diverse genetic backgrounds, but we found no evidence of convergence to similar CDR3 sequences or amino acid substitutions. These results suggest that although germline-encoded specificities can lead to similar immune responses between individuals, diverse evolutionary routes to high affinity limit the genetic predictability of responses to infection and vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcos C. Vieira
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States of America
| | - Anna-Karin E. Palm
- Department of Medicine, Section of Rheumatology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States of America
| | - Christopher T. Stamper
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
- Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States of America
| | - Micah E. Tepora
- Department of Medicine, Section of Rheumatology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States of America
| | - Khoa D. Nguyen
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, United States of America
| | - Tho D. Pham
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, United States of America
| | - Scott D. Boyd
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, United States of America
| | - Patrick C. Wilson
- Department of Medicine, Section of Rheumatology, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States of America
- Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children’s Health, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, United States of America
| | - Sarah Cobey
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States of America
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Lees WD, Christley S, Peres A, Kos JT, Corrie B, Ralph D, Breden F, Cowell LG, Yaari G, Corcoran M, Karlsson Hedestam GB, Ohlin M, Collins AM, Watson CT, Busse CE. AIRR community curation and standardised representation for immunoglobulin and T cell receptor germline sets. IMMUNOINFORMATICS (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2023; 10:100025. [PMID: 37388275 PMCID: PMC10310305 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuno.2023.100025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Analysis of an individual's immunoglobulin or T cell receptor gene repertoire can provide important insights into immune function. High-quality analysis of adaptive immune receptor repertoire sequencing data depends upon accurate and relatively complete germline sets, but current sets are known to be incomplete. Established processes for the review and systematic naming of receptor germline genes and alleles require specific evidence and data types, but the discovery landscape is rapidly changing. To exploit the potential of emerging data, and to provide the field with improved state-of-the-art germline sets, an intermediate approach is needed that will allow the rapid publication of consolidated sets derived from these emerging sources. These sets must use a consistent naming scheme and allow refinement and consolidation into genes as new information emerges. Name changes should be minimised, but, where changes occur, the naming history of a sequence must be traceable. Here we outline the current issues and opportunities for the curation of germline IG/TR genes and present a forward-looking data model for building out more robust germline sets that can dovetail with current established processes. We describe interoperability standards for germline sets, and an approach to transparency based on principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D. Lees
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck College, London, England
- Human-Centered Computing and Information Science, Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering Technology and Science, Porto, Portugal
| | - Scott Christley
- Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Ayelet Peres
- Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Justin T. Kos
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Brian Corrie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Duncan Ralph
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Felix Breden
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Lindsay G. Cowell
- Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, Department of Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Gur Yaari
- Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Martin Corcoran
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Swede
| | | | - Mats Ohlin
- Department of Immunotechnology and SciLifeLab, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Andrew M. Collins
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Corey T. Watson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Christian E. Busse
- Division of B Cell Immunology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
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Narang S, Kaduk M, Chernyshev M, Karlsson Hedestam GB, Corcoran MM. Adaptive immune receptor genotyping using the corecount program. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1125884. [PMID: 37114042 PMCID: PMC10126697 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1125884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We present a new Rep-Seq analysis tool called corecount, for analyzing genotypic variation in immunoglobulin (IG) and T cell receptor (TCR) genes. corecount is highly efficient at identifying V alleles, including those that are infrequently used in expressed repertoires and those that contain 3' end variation that are otherwise refractory to reliable identification during germline inference from expressed libraries. Furthermore, corecount facilitates accurate D and J gene genotyping. The output is highly reproducible and facilitates the comparison of genotypes from multiple individuals, such as those from clinical cohorts. Here, we applied corecount to the genotypic analysis of IgM libraries from 16 individuals. To demonstrate the accuracy of corecount, we Sanger sequenced all the heavy chain IG alleles (65 IGHV, 27 IGHD and 7 IGHJ) from one individual from whom we also produced two independent IgM Rep-seq datasets. Genomic analysis revealed that 5 known IGHV and 2 IGHJ sequences are truncated in current reference databases. This dataset of genomically validated alleles and IgM libraries from the same individual provides a useful resource for benchmarking other bioinformatic programs that involve V, D and J assignments and germline inference, and may facilitate the development of AIRR-Seq analysis tools that can take benefit from the availability of more comprehensive reference databases.
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Collins AM, Watson CT, Breden F. Immunoglobulin genes, reproductive isolation and vertebrate speciation. Immunol Cell Biol 2022; 100:497-506. [PMID: 35781330 PMCID: PMC9545137 DOI: 10.1111/imcb.12567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Reproductive isolation drives the formation of new species, and many genes contribute to this through Dobzhansky–Muller incompatibilities (DMIs). These incompatibilities occur when gene divergence affects loci encoding interacting products such as receptors and their ligands. We suggest here that the nature of vertebrate immunoglobulin (IG) genes must make them prone to DMIs. The genes of these complex loci form functional genes through the process of recombination, giving rise to a repertoire of heterodimeric receptors of incredible diversity. This repertoire, within individuals and within species, must defend against pathogens but must also avoid pathogenic self‐reactivity. We suggest that this avoidance of autoimmunity is only achieved through a coordination of evolution between heavy‐ and light‐chain genes, and between these genes and the rest of the genome. Without coordinated evolution, the hybrid offspring of two diverging populations will carry a heavy burden of DMIs, resulting in a loss of fitness. Critical incompatibilities could manifest as incompatibilities between a mother and her divergent offspring. During fetal development, biochemical differences between the parents of hybrid offspring could make their offspring a target of the maternal immune system. This hypothesis was conceived in the light of recent insights into the population genetics of IG genes. This has suggested that antibody genes are probably as susceptible to evolutionary forces as other parts of the genome. Further repertoire studies in human and nonhuman species should now help determine whether antibody genes have been part of the evolutionary forces that drive the development of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Collins
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Corey T Watson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics University of Louisville School of Medicine Louisville KY USA
| | - Felix Breden
- Department of Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC Canada
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