Immundnz’ Assay Offering

Phagocytosis is an immunologic mechanism involved in apoptosis, necrosis, infection and tumour conditions mediated by leukocytes like macrophages, DCs, and neutrophils. 

One of the types of phagocytosis is antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP). In this case, antibody-opsonised target cells activate phagocytes via Fc-FcR binding, leading to internalisation and degradation of the target cell. This mechanism is valuable in infection and tumour biology and the basis of many antibody-based drugs. Read more.

Cytokines are small proteins that allow cells of the immune system to communicate with each other. When the Immune System produces these cytokines uncontrollably in response to a biopharmaceutical molecule, for instance, or a viral antigen, a cytokine release syndrome or “cytokine storm” is triggered. As a result, high levels of inflammation are created, which can be fatal. Read more.

Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction (MLR) is an in vitro assay in which immune cells from two different donors are co-cultured together to trigger an immune response. MLR can be performed in different ways. In one-way MLR, T cells from one donor are mixed with antigen-presenting cells from another donor. In two-way MLR, two PBMC populations are combined, each containing both T cells and antigen-presenting cells. The activation of T cells within both populations can be measured simultaneously. The advantage of MLR is that no stimulation with a stimulatory compound is required to induce an immune response. T cells and antigen-presenting cells can be analysed by flow cytometry and/or immune-assays for cytokines, activation markers or intracellular protein expression. MLR is often used as to determine the immunomodulatory potential of a compound, especially their ability to potentiate a T cell response. Read more.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the star antigen-presenting cells (APCs) of myeloid or haematopoietic origin that play a vital role between the innate and adaptive immune systems. 

DCs are pivotal in the T-cell-mediated T-helper response to the MHC ClassII-Ag complex and cross-presenting via the MHC class I pathway. They consist of receptors for pathogen and danger-associated molecular patterns, e.g. TLRs. Read more.

An in vitro T cell proliferation assay can be used to determine whether or not T cells are triggered to divide after exposure to a specific antigen of interest, or to assess differences between cell populations in their ability to divide in response to an antigen. We use flow cytometry to assess markers for T cell proliferation. The T cell proliferation assay can be used to assess modulation of the T cell response by (immunomodulatory) compounds. Read more.

Our in-house human T cell assay is adapted to differentiate Th17 cells from TALL-1 cells. On stimulation (e.g. with PMA), these cells produce IL-17 and IL-22, quantified by intracellular flow cytometry or ELISA. This assay can be performed in 96-well plates to test the effect of compounds on Th17 differentiation and activation (e.g. inhibitory effect) and the viability of Th17 cells. The assay can be also be performed with primary T cells. Read more.

Cell apoptosis is also known as programmed cell death, and is a highly regulated process that allows for proper growth and development by destroying unneeded cells and tissues. An apoptosis assay can detect and quantify the cellular events associated with programmed cell death. We can assess apoptosis and cellular stress in a variety of ways, using flow cytometry, Western blot, microscopy or fluorometric. Read more.

Cell viability assays are used to determine if a test molecule has effects on cell proliferation or if it shows cytotoxic effects that lead to cell death. Cell viability assays can also be used to determine optimal growth conditions in cell culture studies. We can assess cell viability in a variety of ways, using flow cytometry, immune assays, microscopy or colorimetry. Read more.