New England Biolabs^®, Inc., Announces the NEBNext^® Immune Sequencing Kits (Human and Mouse) for Sequencing-based Profiling of T- and B-Cell-mediated Immune Responses

The new immune repertoire analysis kits from NEB^® have enabled insights into the durability of mRNA vaccine-conferred immune responses, including the response to SARS-CoV-2.

IPSWICH, MA (August 19, 2021) – New England Biolabs (NEB) recently launched the NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kits, available for either human or mouse samples, to enable B-cell and/or T-cell repertoire (BCR and/or TCR) analysis of infections.

The kits’ streamlined workflows and flexibility make them particularly useful for studies investigating the human immune response to infection and autoimmunity. Recently published examples include immune repertoire analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus responsible for COVID-19, and the causative factor(s) behind rituximab-resistant myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder. The NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kits directly serve the translational research market and include a bioinformatic workflow on the Galaxy platform, based on the open-source pRESTO toolkit.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers in the lab of Ali Ellebedy, Ph.D., at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, applied the NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kit (Human) to address questions about the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines. The findings were published in Nature in June 2021.(1)      

“As the unprecedented pandemic required rapid design and scale-up of mRNA vaccines, little was known about how robust and durable the immune response elicited by the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines was, despite the successful completion of phase I/II and III clinical studies,” said Dr. Ellebedy. “We used the [NEB] kits to examine the repertoire of immune cells isolated from blood and lymph nodes in individuals who received the mRNA vaccines. We specifically probed the cells for the presence of spike-protein-reactive germinal centre B cells as an indicator of a sustained immune response. We found that the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines were able to generate a long-lasting humoral B-cell response to the spike protein. We are currently investigating the T-cell response.”

Prior to the pandemic, Kevin O’Connor, Ph.D., from Yale University, New Haven, CT, demonstrated the use of the NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kit (Human) for uncovering the etiology of relapsing myasthenia gravis following treatment with rituximab. Several publications from his lab demonstrated the use of the NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kit (Human) for these translational research studies.(2,3)
    

“We’re pleased that our new NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kits have been adopted so quickly by the research community, and we’re grateful to have played a key role in supporting such important work,” said Eileen Dimalanta, Ph.D., Associate Director of Applications and Product Development at NEB. “It has always been, and it continues to be, the goal of NEBNext to provide NGS solutions that offer streamlined workflows with low inputs to enable meaningful research.”

The NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kits enable exhaustive profiling of somatic mutations in the full-length immune gene repertoires of B cells and T cells via the expression of complete antibody chains. The kits include modular primer sets, providing information for complete V, D, and J segments and full isotype information analysis (IgM, IgD, IgG, IgA and IgE), and TCR chain characterization. A template-switching Unique Molecular Identifier (UMI)-based mRNA barcoding process allows polymerase chain reaction (PCR) copies derived from an individual molecule to be converted to a consensus sequence, improving sequence accuracy and eliminating PCR bias.

The full product description and ordering details for the NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kit (Human) and NEBNext Immune Sequencing Kit (Mouse) can be found at www.neb.com/E6320 and www.neb.com/E6330 respectively. Sample kits are available for qualified researchers here.

References:

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03738-2
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7453893/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7720237/

About New England Biolabs
Established in the mid 1970s, New England Biolabs, Inc. is the industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications and now offers the largest selection of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. NEB continues to expand its product offerings into areas related to PCR, gene expression, sample preparation for next generation sequencing, synthetic biology, glycobiology, epigenetics, and RNA analysis.  Additionally, NEB is focused on strengthening alliances that enable new technologies to reach key market sectors, including the development of molecular diagnostics, as well as nucleic acid vaccines. New England Biolabs is a privately held company, headquartered in Ipswich, MA, USA, and has extensive worldwide distribution through a network of exclusive distributors, agents and eight subsidiaries located in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the UK. For more information about New England Biolabs visit www.neb.com.

NEB^®, NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS^® and NEBNext^® are registered trademarks of New England Biolabs, Inc.