Researchers have long been puzzled by how the immune system identifies and fights off infections and diseases. In particular, the interaction between adaptive immune receptors (AIRs) like T cell receptors (TCRs) and B cell receptors (BCRs) with antigens has been a complex process to study. Existing methods rely on genetic sequence information, ignoring crucial structural details that determine binding strength, making accurate predictions difficult.
However, a new breakthrough called DeepAIR has emerged, revolutionizing the analysis of AIR-antigen binding. Unlike previous methods, DeepAIR integrates both sequence and structural features of AIRs, incorporating predicted structural data generated by AlphaFold2, a highly accurate protein structure predictor. By combining sequence and structural information, DeepAIR aims to improve the accuracy of predicting how AIRs bind to antigens.
One of DeepAIR’s remarkable features is its performance metrics. It achieves a high Pearson’s correlation of 0.813 in predicting TCR binding affinity and impressive median area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of 0.904 and 0.942 for predicting TCR and BCR binding reactivity, respectively. These metrics demonstrate the effectiveness of DeepAIR in accurately predicting binding strength and reactivity.
Moreover, DeepAIR has shown promising potential in disease identification. By analyzing TCR and BCR repertoires, DeepAIR accurately identifies patients with specific diseases such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma and inflammatory bowel disease. This capability opens up possibilities for personalized immunotherapy and a deeper understanding of immune responses in various diseases.
Overall, DeepAIR represents a significant step forward in understanding how the immune system functions. By integrating both sequence and structural information, DeepAIR outperforms existing methods in predicting AIR-antigen binding. Furthermore, its potential for disease identification within immune repertoires suggests that it could enhance personalized therapies and the development of tailored vaccines. With DeepAIR, researchers are poised to gain a deeper understanding of adaptive immunity, ultimately leading to more effective treatments and interventions.
The source of the article is from the blog qhubo.com.ni