Immunity
Volume 40, Issue 3, 20 March 2014, Pages 436-450
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Functional Analysis via Standardized Whole-Blood Stimulation Systems Defines the Boundaries of a Healthy Immune Response to Complex Stimuli

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Highlights

  • Standardization of whole-blood syringe-based assay systems

  • Establishment of the boundaries of a healthy immune response to adjuvant stimulation

  • Identification of failure to release interleukin-1 alpha as a common immune phenotype

Summary

Standardization of immunophenotyping procedures has become a high priority. We have developed a suite of whole-blood, syringe-based assay systems that can be used to reproducibly assess induced innate or adaptive immune responses. By eliminating preanalytical errors associated with immune monitoring, we have defined the protein signatures induced by (1) medically relevant bacteria, fungi, and viruses; (2) agonists specific for defined host sensors; (3) clinically employed cytokines; and (4) activators of T cell immunity. Our results provide an initial assessment of healthy donor reference values for induced cytokines and chemokines and we report the failure to release interleukin-1α as a common immunological phenotype. The observed naturally occurring variation of the immune response may help to explain differential susceptibility to disease or response to therapeutic intervention. The implementation of a general solution for assessment of functional immune responses will help support harmonization of clinical studies and data sharing.

Cited by (0)

14

These authors contributed equally to this work

15

These authors contributed equally to this work