Affinity tag coating enables reliable detection of antigen-specific B cells in ImmunoSpot assays

Assessment of humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious agents is typically restricted to detecting antigen-specific antibody in the serum. Rarely does immune monitoring entail assessment of the memory B cell compartment itself, although it is these cells that engage in secondary antibody responses capable of mediating immune protection when pre-existing antibodies fail to prevent re-infection. There are few techniques that are capable of detecting rare antigen-specific B cells while also providing information regarding their precursory frequency, class/subclass usage and functional affinity. In theory, the ELISPOT/FluoroSpot (collectively ImmunoSpot) assay platform is ideally-suited for antigen-specific B cell assessments since it provides this information at single-cell resolution for individual antibody-secreting cells (ASC). Here, we tested the hypothesis that antigen coating efficiency could be universally improved across a diverse set of viral antigens if the standard direct (non-specific, low affinity) antigen absorption to the membrane was substituted by high affinity capture. Specifically, we report an enhancement in assay sensitivity and a reduction in required protein concentrations through the capture of recombinant proteins via their encoded hexahistidine (6XHis) affinity tag. Affinity tag antigen coating enabled detection of SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor binding domain (RBD)-reactive ASC, and also significantly improved assay performance using additional control antigens. Collectively, establishment of a universal antigen coating approach streamlines characterization of the memory B cell compartment after SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccinations, and facilitates high-throughput immune monitoring efforts of large donor cohorts in general.