A multiomic approach to autoimmunity in the immunology laboratory

In the diagnostic immunopathology laboratory, technology has permitted the detection of autoantibodies with increasing sensitivities and turn-around times. Over the last decade or so, we have pioneered a unique, research approach to understanding autoantibodies and autoantibody-associated autoimmunity by looking simultaneously at both the proteomic (autoantibody) and transcriptomic (B cell receptor) compartments of patient-derived samples. Our approach stems from the ‘bedside’, allowing our findings to have immediate clinical relevance and advances our understanding of the loss of B cell tolerance and the origins of potentially pathogenic autoantibodies.