A Model for Design and Implementation of a Laboratory Information-Management System Specific for Molecular Pathology Laboratory Operations.

The Molecular Pathology Section, Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH), has undergone enhancement of its testing portfolio and processes. An Excel 2013- and paper-based data-management system was replaced with a commercially available laboratory information-management system (LIMS) software application, a separate bioinformatics platform, customized test-interpretation applications, a dedicated sample-accessioning service, and a results-releasing software application. The customized LIMS solution manages complex workflows, large-scale data packets, and process automation. A customized approach was required because, in a survey of commercially available off-the-shelf software products, none met the diverse and complex needs of this molecular diagnostics service. The project utilized the expertise of clinical laboratorians, pathologists, genetics counselors, bioinformaticians, and systems analysts in partnering with software-engineering consultants to design and implement a solution. Concurrently, Agile software-building best practices were formulated, which may be emulated for scalable and cost-effective laboratory-authored software.

Purification and identification of cell surface antigens using lamprey monoclonal antibodies.

Variable lymphocyte receptor (VLR) B antibodies of the evolutionary distant sea lamprey are structurally distinct from conventional mammalian antibodies. The different protein architecture and large evolutionary distance of jawless vertebrates suggest that VLR antibodies may represent promising tools for biomarker discovery. Here we report the generation of panels of monoclonal VLR antibodies from lamprey larvae immunized with human T cells and the use of a recombinant monoclonal VLR antibody for antigen purification and mass spectrometric identification. We demonstrate that despite predicted low affinity of individual VLR antigen binding units to the antigen, the high avidity resulting from decameric assembly of secreted VLR antibodies allows for efficient antigen capture and subsequent identification by mass spectometry. We show that VLR antibodies detect their antigens with high specificity and can be used in various standard laboratory application techniques. The lamprey antibodies are novel reagents that can complement conventional monoclonal antibodies in multiple scientific research disciplines.