Tsyn-seq: a T cell synapse-based antigen identification platform

Cancer Immunol Res. 2024 Feb 16. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-23-0467. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Tools for genome-wide rapid identification of peptide-major histocompatibility complex targets of T-cell receptors (TCRs) are not yet universally available. We present a new antigen screening method, the T-synapse (Tsyn) reporter system, which includes antigen-presenting cells (APCs) with a Fas-inducible NF-κB reporter and T cells with a nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) reporter. To functionally screen for target antigens from a cDNA library, productively interacting T cell-APC aggregates were detected by dual reporter activity and enriched by flow sorting followed by antigen identification quantified by deep sequencing (Tsyn-seq). When applied to a previously characterized TCR specific for the E7 antigen derived from human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16), Tsyn-seq successfully enriched the correct cognate antigen from a cDNA library derived from an HPV16-positive cervical cancer cell line. Tsyn-seq provides a method for rapidly identifying antigens recognized by TCRs of interest from a tumor cDNA library.