Delineation of BmSXP antibody V-gene usage from a lymphatic filariasis based immune scFv antibody library

•A human scFv immune library for lymphatic filariasis was successfully constructed.•Fifty monoclonal positive binders with very high absorbance values were identified.•Six unique VH-VL pairing was obtained, IgHV3-Vκ1 (45.5%), IgHV2-Vκ3 (27.3%), IgHV3-Vλ3 (18.2%), IgHV5-Vλ2 (4.5%), IgHV5-Vκ1 (2.3%) and IgHV5-Vλ8 (2.3%).•The germline diversity analysis revealed a divergence of heavy chain (V-D-J), light chain (V-J) and CDR region of lymphatic filariasis infected individuals.

Phage display technology is an important tool for antibody generation or selection. This study describes the development of a scFv library and the subsequent analysis of identified monoclonal antibodies against BmSXP, a recombinant antigen for lymphatic filariasis. The immune library was generated from blood of lymphatic filariasis infected individuals. A TA based intermediary cloning approach was used to increase cloning efficiency for the library construction process. A diverse immune scFv library of 108 was generated. Six unique monoclonal antibodies were identified from the 50 isolated clones against BmSXP. Analysis of the clones showed a bias for the IgHV3 and Vκ1 (45.5%) and IgHV2 and Vκ3 (27.3%) gene family. The most favored J segment for light chain is IgKJ1 (45.5%). The most favored D and J segment for heavy chain are IgHD6-13 (75%) and IgHJ3 (47.7%). The information may suggest a predisposition of certain V genes in antibody responses against lymphatic filariasis.