Preservation of whole antibodies within ancient teeth

Shaw, Barry; McDonnell, Thomas; Radley, Elizabeth; Thomas, Brian; Smith, Lynn; Davenport, Carol A L; Gonzalez, Silvia; Rahman, Anisur; Layfield, Rob

Abstract

Archaeological remains can preserve some proteins into deep time, offering remarkable opportunities for probing past events in human history. Recovering functional proteins from skeletal tissues could uncover a molecular memory related to the life-history of the associated remains. We demonstrate affinity purification of whole antibody molecules from medieval human teeth, dating to the 13th – 15th centuries, from skeletons with different putative pathologies. Purified antibodies are intact retaining disulphide-linkages, are amenable to primary sequences analysis, and demonstrate apparent immunoreactivity against contemporary EBV antigen on western blot. Our observations highlight the potential of ancient antibodies to provide insights into the long-term association between host immune factors and ancient microbes, and more broadly retain a molecular memory related to the natural history of human health and immunity.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 4, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Aug 9, 2023
• Publication Date: Sep 15, 2023
• Deposit Date: Aug 16, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 18, 2023
• Journal: iScience
• Electronic ISSN: 2589-0042
• Publisher: Elsevier BV
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 9
• Article Number: 107575
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107575
• Keywords: Biological sciences; Paleobiology; Paleobiochemistry
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/24148840
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223016528