Isolation of Monoclonal Antibodies from Zika Virus-Infected Patient Samples

Abstract

The combination of sorting antigen-specific memory B cells with determining immunoglobulin (Ig) genes at the single-cell level enables the isolation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in individuals. This method requires a small amount of blood (usually 10 mL) and is rapid (less than 2 weeks to isolate antigen-specific mAbs). Due to the application of antigens as the bait to capture the specific memory B cells, the majority of isolated mAbs are true binders to the antigen, which increases the isolation efficiency. Here, applying this approach, we describe the characterization of mAbs against Zika virus from a convalescent patient sample. From 10 mL whole blood, we sorted 33 Zika envelope (E) protein-interacting single memory B cells. The Ig genes from 15 cells were determined, and 13 mAbs were found that bind to Zika E protein with varied binding affinities.