Mayo Clinic’s Advanced Diagnostics Laboratory researchers are using phage immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-Seq) to discover new serological biomarkers for autoimmune diseases. This approach is a multiplexed, phage display-based methodology for analyzing antibody binding specificities. It combines barcoded DNA high-throughput sequencing to determine the levels of binding of antibodies to epitopes.

Human proteins — approximately 60,000 of them — are curated to develop a comprehensive library of DNA sequence fragments. Researchers then put proteins or peptides in bacteriophages, in a manner that they are displayed on the surface, along with the viral coat protein allowing peptide-antibody interaction.

Researchers will continue to optimize the PhIP-Seq platform, work on a more robust, data-driven analysis pipeline, expand machine learning, and immunoprofile more patients over time.

To learn more, check out the complete Eye on Innovation article on Mayo Clinic Laboratories Insights.