HIGH THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING OF IMMUNE REPERTOIRE FOR BIOMARKER DISCOVERY

With rapid development of the nextGen sequencing technology, the question is no longer about how to sequence, but what to sequence. We have developed technologies and bioinformatic pipelines that allow us to study immune repertoire with high throughput sequencing. The human immune system produce the most sensitive, early, and specific reaction to any diseases conditions, therefore, sequencing the personalized repertoire will help identify disease specific markers. Early studies of cancer and other diseases identified two significant changes in immune repertoire: (1) reduced repertoire diversity, as measured by the D50 value; and (2) increased sharing of cancer specific T cells with specific CDR3 sequences. Encouraged by the early findings, we have launched a major international collaboration study, the R1OK project (www.R10K.org), aimed to sequence 10 000 samples and study 100 different diseases. The aim of the project is to identify disease specific biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognosis, and help with diseases management.