Immunology

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Useful for:

• Assessing cell health, determining genotoxicity, evaluating anti-cancer drugs and screening for cellular immunodeficiencies.

Clinical Information: 

• Measuring a cell's ability to proliferate is a fundamental method for assessing cell health, determining genotoxicity, evaluating anti-cancer drugs and screening for cellular immunodeficiencies.
• Mitogens, such as plant lectins phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM), are able to non-specifically stimulate lymphocyte proliferation even if the cells are incapable of responding adequately to antigenic (physiologic) stimuli.
• The use of physiological-like stimulation, using anti-CD3/CD28 coated magnetic dynabeads, increases the sensitivity of this assay at measuring the T-cells ability to proliferate.
• The Click-iT® EdU Flow Cytometry Assay Kit then allows the detection of newly formed DNA, thus demonstrating the cells ability to proliferate in reponce to stimuli.

Please Note:

• As this is a specialised test please contact the laboratory to arrange sample processing.
• Absolute lymphocyte levels are influenced by circadian variation, therefore consistency of timing when acquiring blood samples is required when monitoring patients serially.
• Samples must be kept at ambient room temperature and analysed within 24 hours of sample collection.

Related links

Reference range

Reference range established in the Immunology Department, St James's Hospital, 2017 and 2018, on 19 healthy normal donors for PHA stimulation and 17 healthy normal donors for CD3/CD28 stimulation.

Last updated

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 11:52:18 IST