Assays of T-cell contact dependent monocyte-macrophage functions

The production of cytokines and other inflammatory products in chronic/sterile inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis might be induced in monocytes/macrophages by direct cellular contact with stimulated T-cells. Studies of cell-cell interactions are usually complicated by the simultaneous presence of at least two viable cell types. To obviate this problem, we developed strategies allowing only interactions between stimulated T-cell surface molecules and the monocytes/macrophages, and any products secreted into the medium or mRNA are necessarily of monocytic origin. This chapter aims at reviewing and describing the latter methods and strategies.