Solid tumor
Inflammation-induced IgA+ cells dismantle anti-liver cancer immunity
Nature. 2017 Nov 16;551(7680):340-345.
Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD)
Shabnam Shalapour
Our repertoire analysis was used in the study of tumor immunity. The authors performed a TCR/BCR repertoire analysis and reported that chronic inflammation causes the accumulation of IgA-producing B cells. Furthermore, the authors report that these cells express PD-L1 and IL10 and directly suppress the action of cytotoxic T cells in tissues. These results suggest that suppression of cytotoxic T cells by inflammation is important for the growth of cancer, and that there is a possibility of enhancing immune function against cancer cells and thus the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Solid tumor
Combination immunotherapy with TLR agonists and checkpoint inhibitors suppresses head and neck cancer
JCI Insight. 2017 Sep 21;2(18).
Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego (UCSD)
Fumi Sato-Kaneko
Our repertoire analysis was used in the study of tumor immunity. The authors performed a TCR repertoire analysis of the effects of PD-1 antibody and TLR7 and TLR9 agonist combination therapy on head and neck cancer. As a result, it has been reported that the combination therapy increases clonality and common clones in tumors and spleen of cancer-bearing mice. These results suggest the improvement of the therapeutic effect of the new combination therapy and the possibility of clinical trials.

Basal immunity
Human thymoproteasome variations influence CD8 T cell selection
Sci Immunol. 2017 Jun 2;2(12).
Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo
Takeshi Nitta
Our repertoire analysis was used in the study of the molecular mechanism of the thymus. The authors performed a TCR repertoire analysis and reported that G49S mutations in the thymic proteasome component (PSMB11) adversely affect the positive selection of CD8⁺ T cells in thymic cortical epithelial cells. These results suggest that it may be a factor in Sjogren's syndrome.

Clinical immunity
Highly functional T-cell receptor repertoires are abundant in stem memory T cells and highly shared among individuals
Sci Rep. 2017 Jun 16;7(1):3663.
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine (RIRBM), Hiroshima University
Takakazu Kawase
In a collaborative study on the diversity of repertoire, we evaluated the existence of a public TCR that reacts with cytomegalovirus-derived antigenic peptides. It is estimated that human T cells have 10¹⁸ TCR. It was not known in detail how TCRs that recognize specific pathogens were selected from them. In addition, the TCR of pathogen-specific T cells is thought to differ from individual to individual, but it was difficult to compare the commonality of TCR repertoires with conventional techniques. The paper reports that the existence of a shared TCR that is common among different individuals has been confirmed and that it is composed of T cells with high immune responsiveness. The collaborative research group analyzed the TCR repertoire of peripheral blood T cells in five healthy donors and evaluated the T-cell population that specifically reacts with cytomegalovirus-derived antigen peptides using MHC tetramer. As a result, it was found that the major TCR that reacts with the antigen is the "shared TCR" that is shared among donors and is used by T cells that show a high immune response. Interestingly, this antigen-specific shared TCR is frequently used in stem cell-like memory T cells, which control long-term immunological memory, despite being common to functionally different T-cell types. These results suggest that stem cell-like memory T cells may be a source of other functional memory T cells.

Basal immunity
Different Somatic Hypermutation Levels among Antibody Subclasses Disclosed by a New Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Antibody Repertoire Analysis
Front Immunol. 2017 May 3;8:389.
Repertoire Genesis Inc.
Kazutaka Kitaura
We have developed a BCR repertoire analysis method that can comprehensively analyze all antibody isotypes and subclasses. As a result of investigating the accumulation of mutations in the process of class switching from IgM to other Ig subclasses using healthy subjects PBMC, the mechanism of Sequential switching was clarified. It is suggested that this analysis method can be used for research on vaccines, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, tumor immunity, etc.

Basal immunity
A new high-throughput sequencing method for determining diversity and similarity of T cell receptor (TCR) α and β repertoires and identifying potential new invariant TCR α chains
BMC Immunol. 2016 Oct 11;17(1):38.
Repertoire Genesis Inc.
Kazutaka Kitaura
We have developed a repertoire analysis technology using a next-generation sequencer using the Adaptor-ligation method that enables unbiased amplification. The repertoires of healthy PBMCs were similar in scale and tendency of diversity, and in the TCR α chain, sequences derived from iNKT cells and mucosa-related invariant T cells that were common among individuals were obtained. These results suggest that comprehensive repertoire analysis can be realized using this technology.