| abstract |
Methods of identifying antigen-specific antibody-secreting and antibody-forming cells, such as antigen-specific B cells, and methods for cloning the antigen-specific antibody sequences of the antibody produced by these cells are provided. In particular, the methods include enriching B cells for antigen-specific B cells, culturing the antigen-specific B cells to generate clonal B cell populations, detecting clonal B cells that produce a single antigen-specific antibody, optionally screening the clonal B cell populations for functional activity, staining and sorting the cells to isolate the antigen-specific B cells, sequencing the nucleic acids encoding the antigen-specific antibody sequences, expressing the sequences to produce an antibody, isolating the antibody and screening the antibody for antigen recognition. The methods provide improved enrichment and selection of antigen-specific antibody-secreting and antibody-forming cells, which enhances recovery of antigen-specific antibodies. |