Cytokine Release Assays (CRA)

Cytokines are small proteins that allow cells of the immune system to communicate with each other. When cytokines are produced uncontrolled, such as, e.g. in response to a biopharmaceutical molecule or a viral antigen, a condition known as cytokine release syndrome or “cytokine storm” is triggered. High levels of inflammation are created, which can be fatal.

Importance of Cytokine Release Assays

The cytokine release assay (CRA) is an in vitro assay using human cells to assess the potential risk of a compound or antigen to induce significant cytokine release from immune cells. Regulatory guidance suggests assessing cytokine release in response to drug molecules during the drug development process. We offer the conventional CRA using PBMCs. In addition, we have developed a unique and novel CRA based on human cell lines. This cell line-based CRA shows comparable data to PBMC-based CRA but with the advantage of being adaptive, consistent, reproducible and more cost-effective. The cell line-based CRA is also highly suitable for compound screening. In both PBMC-based CRA and cell line-based CRA, you can vary the culture duration and the number and type of cytokines to be analysed.

Applications of Cytokine Release Assays

Cytokine release assay (CRA) is vital in biopharmaceutical discovery and development and life science research:

• Immunomodulatory molecules
• Monoclonal antibodies
• ADCs and bi-specific antibodies
• Vaccines and viral antigens