Optimizing the method for expressing human monoclonal antibodies from a single peripheral blood cell from vaccinated donors

Abstract

Human monoclonal antibodies are essential diagnostic and research tools and one of the most promising therapeutics. In the past years, single B cell technologies have evolved and over-come conventional methods' limitations, enabling the isolation of scarce B cell populations with desirable characteristics. In this study, we describe a simple and efficient method to isolate anti-gen-specific plasmablasts and memory B cells from hepatitis B virus vaccinated donors' peripheral blood and consequently amplification of immunoglobulin variable region genes. Amplified immunoglobulin variable region genes were cloned into expression vectors and transfected into a human cell line to produce human recombinant monoclonal antibodies. Major challenges in this protocol were isolation of antigen-specific B cells based on surface markers, recovering mRNA from a single cell for efficient amplification, and cloning the correct insert into a desired expression vector. The essential feature of our protocol was the separation of B cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells before sorting. We identified antigen-specific binding B cells based on the expression of surface markers CD19, CD27, IgG, and binding to hepatitis B surface antigen. Efficient single-cell reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were achieved using a random primer mix and Kapa Hifi Hot Start Polymerase. Amplification efficiency differed among heavy and light chain variable regions (highest at heavy chain (68 %) and lowest at lambda light chain (22 %)). After co-transfection of HEK293T/17 with successfully cloned heavy and light chain vectors, 70 % of transfected cells produced recombinant monoclonal antibodies at a concentration ∼ 4 μg/ml and 7 % of them showed binding to HBsAg. Human monoclonal antibodies from peripheral blood have advantages over antibodies of mouse origin or phage display libraries, because of their high specificity and self-tolerance. Using the described protocol, we can generate fully human monoclonal antibodies to any other antigen for application in immunotherapy or basic research.