Method of measuring immune activation
AssigneeSequenta, Inc.
InventorsMalek Faham, Mark Klinger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention is directed to a method of detecting immune activation in an individual by measuring frequencies and sizes of certain groups of related clonotypes, referred to herein as “clans,” in a clonotype profile of the individual. A clan may arise from a single lymphocyte progenitor that gives rise to many related lymphocyte progeny, each possessing and/or expressing a slightly different immunoglobulin receptor due to somatic mutation(s), such as base substitutions, inversions, related rearrangements resulting in common V(D)J gene segment usage, or the like. Immune activation is correlated to frequencies and sizes of clans in a clonotype profile exceeding reference values for those features.
Claims8
A method of detecting immune activation in an individual, the method comprising the steps of:
- obtaining a sample comprising B cells from an individual;
- generating a clonotype profile from nucleic acids comprising, or copied from, recombined DNA of immunoglobulin genes;
- identifying in the clonotype profile a number of clans having sizes greater than a non-activated norm;
- and
- correlating the number of such clans with immune activation whenever the number exceeds an upper bound of a reference range.
3-7. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.