[Laboratory medicine of lymphocytes]

Recently, many laboratory tests associated with lymphocytes and/or lymphocyte functions have been developed. Among them, cytokine determinations of various body fluids and cytokine production assays are most highlightened. As cytokine is an effector molecule in immunological network, cytokine production profile may indicate functional state of immune response and immunopathological process. On the basis of these understandings, we propose cytokine production assay of whole blood culture system.