Detection of Cytokine-Secreting Cells by Enzyme-Linked Immunospot (ELISpot)

The enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) is a highly sensitive immunoassay that measures the frequency of cytokine-secreting cells at the single-cell level. The secreted molecules are detected by using a detection antibody system similar to that used in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ELISpot assay is carried out in a 96-well plate and an automated ELISpot reader is used for analysis. The assay is easy to perform, robust and allows rapid analysis of a large number of samples and is not limited to measurement of cytokines; it is suitable for almost any secreted protein where single-cell analysis is of interest.