Immunome Research
Open Access
ISSN: 1745-7580
+44-77-2385-9429
ISSN: 1745-7580
+44-77-2385-9429
Ulrich Sack
Leipzig University, Germany
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Immunome Res
Autoreactive T-cells and B-cells are crucial players in pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Detection of autoantibodies has been well established in clinical practice, various technologies are available today. Beside this, an increasing number of cellular diagnostic tests contribute to differential diagnosis. Antigen specific T-cells, target cells for biologicals, disease-specific cellular antigens and novel candidate cell populations are main examples. Despite the fact that there is strong evidence for T-cells contributing to pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases, there is not yet an established test for the detection of autoantigen-specific T-cells in humans. For HLA-B27 associated connective tissue diseases, diagnostic flow cytometry has been established in laboratory diagnostics as an indispensable method. In contrast, cytometric analysis of shared epitope could not be established in flow cytometry as originally expected. To minimize the tuberculosis risk in patients treated with biologicals, various interferon-gamma release assays have been established (IGRAs). Cell cultures and ELISPOT assays yield comparable results both based on T-cell stimulation by M. tuberculosis antigens. Furthermore, control of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood during immune suppression or antibody treatment has been shown indispensible to manage immune surveillance of treated patients. All these cellular tests depend on viable cells and require a well-controlled pre-analytical process. Because of the special needs of the analysis in vital cells, the quality management is still a challenge. Nevertheless, the relevancy of cellular tests will be rising. This will contribute to differential diagnosis, therapy planning and patients� safety.
Email: mail@ulrichsack.de