optimized-interferon-gamma-elispot-assay-to-measure-t-cell-responses

Optimized Interferon-gamma ELISpot Assay to Measure T Cell Responses in the Guinea Pig Model after Vaccination

The guinea pig has played a pivotal role as a relevant small animal model in the development of vaccines for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, ...

Robert Koch Institute

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) plays a key role in the induction and maintenance of immunity against intracellular infectious agents. Compared to other species, little is known about the biology of this cytokine in the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). We found that in contrast to humans and mice, IFN-gamma in the guinea pig did not induce the antiviral state, which in other species leads to protection of IFN-gamma -stimulated fibroblasts from the cytopathic effect (CPE) of subsequent viral infections. As an alternative strategy to detect and quantify guinea pig IFN-gamma activity in vitro, a reporter system using guinea pig fibroblasts transfected with a luciferase gene, which is regulated by an IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE), was established. With the help of the highly sensitive reporter assay system, the biologic activity of recombinant guinea pig IFN-gamma (GpIFN-gamma, from prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems was detected. The response to both native and recombinant GpIFN-gamma was inhibited by a rabbit antiserum directed against the recombinant cytokine expressed in Escherichia coli, demonstrating structural and functional homology of native and recombinant GpIFN-gamma. Stimulation with GpIFN-gamma, obtained from transfected cells, induced upregulation of MHC class I expression in a guinea pig fibroblast line. The restricted activity of GpIFN-gamma might have implications for this species' ability to control infections with intracellular pathogens.

Biologic activity of guinea pig IFN-gamma in vitro.

We have generated polyclonal antisera and monoclonal antibodies against recombinant guinea pig IFN-gamma. These antibodies were used to inhibit the function of IFN-gamma in vitro and to establish a capture ELISA system for the detection and quantitation of this cytokine. Although recombinant protein expressed in E. coli was available in abundance, it was only of limited value to develop a capture ELISA which detects the native cytokine, since only a limited number of monoclonal antibodies reacted both with the recombinant and the native protein. Positive test results in an initial ELISA setup with recombinant IFN-gamma were not predictive for the detection of IFN-gamma from activated T-lymphocytes in the same assay. After evaluating several different combinations of rabbit antisera and monoclonal antibodies, an assay system was established which uses two mouse monoclonal antibodies as capture and detecting reagents. Three of the monoclonal antibodies and the rabbit antisera were able to block the function of guinea pig IFN-gamma when assayed in a luciferase reporter assay.

Monoclonal antibodies to guinea pig interferon-gamma: tools for cytokine detection and neutralization.

The use of monoclonal antibodies directed against membrane proteins of leukocytes has greatly contributed to our understanding of the function and development of the immune system. Meanwhile these reagents provide valuable tools in many fields of research, stretching far beyond immunology and hematology. For guinea pigs only a limited number of such reagents have been described, and the information about availability and specificity is scattered over many years and journals. We provide an overview on the monoclonal antibodies produced since the technique was applied first in this species, with a focus on those reagents which have been characterized in more detail, and which should still be available either commercially or directly from the labs that created them.

Hubert Schaefer

Mycotic and Parasitic Agents and Mycobacteria

Robert Koch Institute

Optimized Interferon-gamma ELISpot Assay to Measure T Cell Responses in the Guinea Pig Model after Vaccination

Hubert Schaefer

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Robert Koch Institute

Optimized Interferon-gamma ELISpot Assay to Measure T Cell Responses in the Guinea Pig Model after Vaccination

Mycotic and Parasitic Agents and Mycobacteria