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Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Whole-cell MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry is an Accurate and Rapid Method to Analyze Different Modes of Macrophage Activation
Published on: December 26, 2013
Mass Spectrometric Immunoassay for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the cytokine Macrophage Migration
Nisha D Sherma1, Chad R Borges2, Olgica Trenchevska1
1The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA.
Background:
The cytokine MIF (Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor) has diverse physiological roles and is present at elevated concentrations in numerous disease states. However, its molecular heterogeneity has not been previously investigated in biological samples. Mass Spectrometric Immunoassay (MSIA) may help elucidate MIF post-translational modifications existing in vivo and provide additional clarity regarding its relationship to diverse pathologies.
Results:
In this work, we have developed and validated a fully quantitative MSIA assay for MIF, and used it in the discovery and quantification of different proteoforms of MIF in serum samples, including cysteinylated and glycated MIF. The MSIA assay had a linear range of 1.56-50 ng/mL, and exhibited good precision, linearity, and recovery characteristics. The new assay was applied to a small cohort of human serum samples, and benchmarked against an MIF ELISA assay.
Conclusions:
The quantitative MIF MSIA assay provides a sensitive, precise and high throughput method to delineate and quantify MIF proteoforms in biological samples.
