What's Happening?
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has introduced a new technique called Throughput-Intensive Rapid TCR Library sequencing (TIRTL-seq) to analyze T-cell repertoires more efficiently and affordably. This method allows for the processing of up to 30
million T cells at a time, significantly surpassing the previous limit of 20 thousand cells. The cost of analyzing 10 million cells using TIRTL-seq is approximately $200, compared to $2,000 for 20 thousand cells with existing methods. The technique was demonstrated using blood samples from the St. Jude Tracking Study of Immune Responses Associated with COVID-19, successfully detecting changes in T-cell receptors before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The findings were published in Nature Methods.
Why It's Important?
The development of TIRTL-seq is significant as it democratizes access to detailed immune memory analysis, making it feasible for more scientists to conduct T-cell research. This advancement could accelerate the understanding of immune responses and lead to improved treatments for diseases like cancer and infections. By reducing costs and increasing the volume of T cells that can be analyzed, TIRTL-seq has the potential to enhance research capabilities and contribute to the development of diagnostic tools for detecting infections and other immune-related conditions.
What's Next?
St. Jude has made the TIRTL-seq method freely available online, including detailed instructions for setup. This accessibility is expected to encourage widespread adoption and further research into T-cell science. The technique's ability to detect previously undetected infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus, suggests potential for future diagnostic applications. Researchers may explore the use of TIRTL-seq in various clinical trials and studies to better understand immune responses and develop targeted therapies.
