Messung zellulärer Immunreaktionen mit Hilfe der ELISPOT-Technik

Using two examples in virology the use of ELISPOT technique for the determination of cellular immune reactions is demonstrated either as an innate non specific response or as a specific response after defined antigen re-stimulation. The interferon alpha production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) shows the strong individual variance of PBMC response to first contact with parapoxvirus (PPV) isolates from milker's node patients. The production of interferon gamma (formerly: immune interferon) by PBMC after first in vitro exposure (naive swine) to classical swine fever virus (CSFV) does not exceed the mock stimulus induced background reaction. However, after in vitro re-stimulation of PBMC,from CSFV infected and immune swine the ELISPOT technique reproducibly detects a high production of interferon gamma. Thus interferon gamma production is a reliable parameter for virus-specific cellular immune response. In addition the ELISPOT technique allows a combined determination of non-specific (innate) cytokine production (e.g. interferon alpha) and antigen-specific, re-stimulation dependent, production of interferon gamma (dual color ELISPOT)