Immune Repertoire Sequencing; Helps Improve the Success Rate of Drug Development

 

Immune repertoire sequencing is used in biomarker discovery to improve the cost-effectiveness and success rate of rational drug development. The immune repertoire involves different sub-types an organism's immune system makes of T-cell receptors or immunoglobulins. Immune systems in vertebrates have six key types of proteins, such as four T-cell receptors and two immunoglobulin. Immune repertoire sequencing help understand and examine the adaptive immune-mediated diseases. An individual's immune repertoire is the various types of T-cells that the body produces. These are needed by the immune cells to recognize pathogens or foreign bodies that invade the body.

The immune repertoire may be influenced by genetic factors, but T-cells are generally made within the body and can be either independent, i.e. they can develop without any external stimulus, or induced, when the body detects a threat to its health. Immune repertoire is a broad term used to explain the various steps and processes involved in the process of identifying persons' immune system and then establishing a basis for designing a course of treatment that can successfully suppress any further attacks. Immune repertoire can be influenced by many factors. The major ones are infection, stress, chemicals, radiation, and vaccination.

Moreover, immune repertoire sequencing is widely used in cancer immunotherapy, asthma and allergy research, infectious disease research, and biomarker discovery. With increasing demand for personalized medicine, the demand for immune repertoire sequencing is also increasing, as personalized medicine uses a person’s genetic profile to guide decisions made regarding the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases. For instance, Japan becomes the first country to approve Roche’s personalized medicine Rozlytrek. In June 2019, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved Roche’s Rozlytrek (entrectinib) for the treatment of patients with neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase fusion-positive, advanced recurrent solid tumors.

Personalized medicine is a term used for the treatment focusing on the patients based on their clinical characterization, considering the diversity of symptoms, severity, and genetic traits.