Genetics of Antibody-Mediated Immunity

We will determine how inherited variation in the immunoglobulin (IG) loci shapes human antibody recognition of viral epitopes. Existing Lifelines PhIP-seq antibody-binding and genotype data will be reanalyzed using a long-read-based, IG-specific imputation reference panel. Common IG variants will be imputed and tested for association with peptide-level antibody binding and coordinated modules of antibody recognition, adjusting for age, sex, and genetic ancestry. This work will improve resolution of the genetic architecture of antiviral humoral immunity and identify inherited factors influencing inter-individual differences in antibody specificity.