In collaboration with Prof. Eytan Domany of the Department of Physics of Complex Systems, we developed an antigen chip that allows the global analysis of antibody reactivities to an array of various molecules including self-molecules.
The antigen chip provides patterns of reactivities that can be analyzed by various informatic technologies as a means to detect the state of the individual immune system in health and disease: autoimmune diseases, cancer, transplantation, degenerative diseases and infections.
This information is being used for early diagnosis, disease monitoring, stratification of patients, individualized medical care, prediction of incipient disease, prediction of response to treatment, and study of the evolution from birth of the healthy antibody and autoantibody repertoires.
Collaborative research based on the antigen microarray chip is underway with colleagues at Tel Aviv University (Prof. Eshel Ben Jacob); Bar-Ilan University (Prof. Yoram Louzoun, Dr. Sol Efroni); The Open University (Dr. Noam Shental); Harvard Medical School (Dr. Francisco J. Quintana); and other academic institutions.
The development of the antigen microarray was driven by Irun Cohen’s concept of the Immunological Homunculus – the immune system’s image of the body and the environment based on the systems ability to react to dominant immune biomarker molecules.
See the following papers in the list of publications: 202; 235; 243; 246; 288; 358; 371; 377; 400; 406; 419; 423; 441; 458; 461; 472; 476; 479; 490; 495; 499.
An Israeli company, ImmunArray Ltd, (Prof. Eli Sahar, CEO) has been formed to commercialize the potential of the antigen chip platform to advance human health.