The NanoString T-Cell Receptor Report evaluates the expression of the variable regions (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) within T-cell receptors. The variable regions are assessed for overall expression (above or below background) and normalized to a panel standard which allows for more precise quantification of these variable regions. We also calculate the T-cell Receptor (TCR) score, an estimate of TCR Diversity.

The TCR score calculates the diversity of T-cell receptor beta variable regions within a sample. The score is based on the Shannon Diversity index calculation, which is a mathematical measure of species diversity in a community. We use this ecological calculation to account for the abundance and evenness of the variable regions present within a given sample versus the population of T-cell receptors within a given dataset. The score given is relative within a dataset, in which a higher TCR score means there is a more diverse population of variable regions, or a less clonal population. A lower score means there is less diversity, or a more clonal population. True clonality can only be determined using the full sequence of the TCR, but we can estimate clonality by measuring a low diversity of TCR beta variable regions.

We have 3 tabs within the report:

• Summary tab:
  • Plots for number of probes detected above background, broken down by variable regions and grouping variables selected for analysis.
  • This includes an explanation of the report and relavant assay QC information displayed in a table.
• Heatmap tab:
  • This includes the heatmaps of the probes that are detected above background and the panel standard normalized heatmaps which are broken down by variable regions.
• TCR Score tab:
  • This includes the TCR score for each sample and plots the scores in different ways depending on the type of grouping variable within the analysis.