Optimizing Cytokine Analysis-Choosing the Right Assay for Accurate Detection and Interpretation of Cytokine Expression

The increasing availability of commercial multiplexed cytokine assays has made measurement of circulating cytokine levels more common in the study of the pathogenesis of disease, but it also introduces several technical challenges that can make assay design more complicated. Determination of the suitability of an assay for a given application as well as a thorough understanding of how elements of experimental design may impact study outcomes are critical to the generation of robust and rigorous research data.

 

Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are often chosen as a preclinical model of disease and treatment due to their close evolutionary relationship with humans, including a complex immune system. Since these studies are often the last step before translation to clinical application, it’s critical that researchers understand how demographic characteristics and experimental design, such as species and sex, may affect therapeutic efficacy or safety. Confidence in immunoassay data depends on the accuracy and precision that is only possible from using high quality antibody reagents. This means selecting antibodies with not only high analyte affinity but also specificity, which is the ability to distinguish between the analyte and other structurally similar components.

 

Presenters will highlight their experience using Luminex nonhuman primate cytokine performance panels and the advantages of measuring a multitude of different targets without increasing your sample volume.

 

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