Multivalent binding model quantifies antibody species from systems serology
Authors: Abraham Armaan A. , Tan Zhixin Cyrillus , Shrestha Priyanka , Bozich Emily R. , Meyer Aaron S. 
Published: July 2024

Systems serology aims to broadly profile the antigen binding, Fc biophysical features, immune receptor engagement, and effector functions of antibodies. This experimental approach excels at identifying antibody functional features that are relevant to a particular disease. However, a crucial limitation of this approach is its incomplete description of what structural features of the antibodies are responsible for the observed immune receptor engagement and effector functions. Knowing these antibody features is important for both understanding how effector responses are naturally controlled through antibody Fc structure and designing antibody therapies with specific effector profiles. Here, we address this limitation by modeling the molecular interactions occurring in these assays and using this model to infer quantities of specific antibody species among the antibodies being profiled. We used several validation strategies to show that the model accurately infers antibody properties. We then applied the model to infer previously unavailable antibody fucosylation information from existing systems serology data. Using this capability, we find that COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is associated with the induction of afucosylated spike protein-targeting IgG. Our results also question an existing assumption that controllers of HIV exhibit gp120-targeting IgG that are less fucosylated than those of progressors. Additionally, we confirm that afucosylated IgG is associated with membrane-associated antigens for COVID-19 and HIV, and present new evidence indicating that this relationship is specific to the host cell membrane. Finally, we use the model to identify redundant assay measurements and subsets of information-rich measurements from which they can be inferred. In total, our modeling approach provides a quantitative framework for the reasoning typically applied in these studies, improving the ability to draw mechanistic conclusions from these data.

Author summary

Antibodies play an important role in our immune response by binding to pathogens and engaging other immune cells to eliminate threats. Mounting evidence points toward the importance of which immune cells are being engaged by antibodies in determining the effectiveness of an immune response. While sophisticated experimental methods such as systems serology have been developed to broadly profile the engagement activities of antibodies, determining the presence of antibody structural features relevant to immune engagement remains challenging. Our study addresses this gap by developing a computational model that interprets data from systems serology, allowing us to infer detailed, engagement-relevant structural information about antibodies that are difficult to measure directly. We applied our approach to existing data from COVID-19 and HIV studies, revealing new insights into how antibody structure relates to vaccine efficacy and disease progression. For instance, we found that COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness is linked to the production of certain antibodies lacking a sugar residue called fucose. Our model also helps identify which measurements in systems serology are most informative, potentially streamlining future studies. This work enhances our ability to understand antibody function in disease and may guide the development of more effective antibody-based therapies.

Graphical Abstract