Recent years have seen the introduction of a number of whole-blood assays, in which unseparated heparinized blood is stimulated with antigen either overnight or for as long as 6 days, and cytokine production is measured in the plasma or supernatant. These assays have potential for use in the field as immunodiagnostic assays, as they require only a small blood sample and basic laboratory facilities. Use of these assays in a large study of the immunological effects of BCG vaccination in Malawi has shown that the diluted blood, 6-day whole-blood assays is robust, and can be used to assess T-cell responses to both crude and recombinant antigens. If used with antigens specific to Mycobacterium leprae, these assays could be used to measure exposure of M. leprae within communities or populations, or to aid the early diagnosis of leprosy.
BT - Leprosy review C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11201889?dopt=Abstract CN - Infolep Library - available DA - 2000 Dec DO - 10.5935/0305-7518.20000069 J2 - Lepr Rev LA - eng N2 -Recent years have seen the introduction of a number of whole-blood assays, in which unseparated heparinized blood is stimulated with antigen either overnight or for as long as 6 days, and cytokine production is measured in the plasma or supernatant. These assays have potential for use in the field as immunodiagnostic assays, as they require only a small blood sample and basic laboratory facilities. Use of these assays in a large study of the immunological effects of BCG vaccination in Malawi has shown that the diluted blood, 6-day whole-blood assays is robust, and can be used to assess T-cell responses to both crude and recombinant antigens. If used with antigens specific to Mycobacterium leprae, these assays could be used to measure exposure of M. leprae within communities or populations, or to aid the early diagnosis of leprosy.
PY - 2000 SP - S60 EP - 2 T2 - Leprosy review TI - Whole blood assays for interferon-gamma: practicalities and potential for use as diagnostic tests in the field. UR - http://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/2000/v71s1/pdf/v71s1a12.pdf VL - 71 Suppl SN - 0305-7518 ER -