Massively-multiplexed epitope mapping techniques for viral antigen discovery

Diya Hu; Aaron T Irving

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1192385

Massively-multiplexed epitope mapping techniques for viral antigen discovery

Front Immunol. 2023 Sep 25:14:1192385. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1192385. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Diya Hu¹, Aaron T Irving^{2

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Haining, China.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory Studies, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
³ Centre for Infection, Immunity & Cancer, Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Haining, China.
⁴ Biomedical and Health Translational Research Centre of Zhejiang Province (BIMET), Haining, China.
⁵ College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Following viral infection, viral antigens bind specifically to receptors on the surface of lymphocytes thereby activating adaptive immunity in the host. An epitope, the smallest structural and functional unit of an antigen, binds specifically to an antibody or antigen receptor, to serve as key sites for the activation of adaptive immunity. The complexity and diverse range of epitopes are essential to study and map for the diagnosis of disease, the design of vaccines and for immunotherapy. Mapping the location of these specific epitopes has become a hot topic in immunology and immune therapy. Recently, epitope mapping techniques have evolved to become multiplexed, with the advent of high-throughput sequencing and techniques such as bacteriophage-display libraries and deep mutational scanning. Here, we briefly introduce the principles, advantages, and disadvantages of the latest epitope mapping techniques with examples for viral antigen discovery.

Keywords: B cell; T cell; epitope; epitope mapping; phage-display.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antigens*
Antigens, Viral*
Cell Surface Display Techniques / methods
Epitope Mapping / methods
Epitopes

Substances

Antigens, Viral
Epitopes
Antigens

Grants and funding

The authors declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. AI is funded by a Key grant from the National Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Z23C010003) and a National Science Foundation Research Fund for International Excellent Young Scientists (RFIS-II, 82350610279).