The Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Parse Biosciences today announced a strategic collaboration to generate a single cell atlas focused on understanding the diversity of plasmablasts – early immune cell clonotypes critical in the formation of neutralizing antibodies – for measles, mumps and rubella. This effort aims to build the most comprehensive understanding of the formation of neutralizing antibodies to the vaccine and to identify the dominant and effective antibodies to these infectious agents.
Dr. James Crowe, Director of Vanderbilt's Center for Antibody Therapeutics, will lead the development of the large-scale immune cell study. “This collaboration enables us to create the largest single cell atlas of neutralizing plasmablasts ever assembled,” states Crowe. “By sequencing and mapping tens of millions of B cell receptors, we can uncover the most potent antibody lineages, accelerating antibody discovery and informing vaccine design. These insights give us a critical edge in responding to both emerging infectious threats and optimizing existing immunization strategies."
Leveraging Parse’s Evercode chemistry, the GigaLab can rapidly produce large single cell datasets, sequencing these immune cells with exceptional granularity at scale.
“We are thrilled to be working with Dr. James Crowe and the Vanderbilt team on such an exciting project,” says Dr. Charlie Roco, Chief Technology Officer at Parse Biosciences. “The speed and scale achieved with the GigaLab will enable us to sequence unprecedented numbers of immune cells present after exposure to these viral antigens. In addition to better understanding the immune diversity, clonal expansion, and antigen specificity of antibodies across a number of diverse patients, these findings may also identify novel therapeutic antibodies.”
