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Characterization of Immune Cell Subset Expansion in Response to Therapeutic Treatment in Mice
Jakub Tomala1,2,3, Jamie B Spangler4,5
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Insights
This study presents a flow cytometry workflow to rapidly assess immune cell activation in mice. This method offers a powerful tool for evaluating potential immunotherapeutics across various disease applications.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Immunology
- Cellular Biology
- Immunotherapy Research
Background:
- Flow cytometry is crucial for analyzing immune events at the single-cell level.
- Evaluating new immunotherapeutics often requires complex, long-term animal models.
- There is a need for faster methods to assess immune responses to molecular interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a flow cytometry-based workflow for quantifying immune cell subset activation in mice.
- To provide a rapid alternative to traditional disease models for evaluating candidate therapeutics.
- To demonstrate the utility of this approach for both immunostimulatory and immunosuppressive therapeutic strategies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized flow cytometry to monitor immune cell activation in mice.
- Developed a workflow for quantifying specific immune cell subsets.
- Applied the method to assess responses to molecular interventions in vivo.
Main Results:
- The flow cytometry workflow enables rapid quantification of immune cell activation.
- This technique allows for efficient preliminary assessment of immunotherapeutic candidates.
- The approach is versatile, applicable to diverse disease contexts requiring immune modulation.
Conclusions:
- This flow cytometry workflow is a powerful and accessible strategy for preliminary in vivo assessment of immunotherapeutics.
- The method facilitates faster evaluation of potential treatments for conditions like cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, and transplantation.
- This technique streamlines the early-stage research and development of novel immunotherapies.
Abstract:
Flow cytometry has revolutionized the field of molecular immunology, enabling the monitoring and characterization of immune events at the single-cell level. Here, we describe a flow cytometry-based workflow to quantify the activation of specific immune cell subsets in mice in response to a molecular intervention. Compared to laborious long-term disease models, this technique allows for relatively rapid evaluation of candidate therapeutics designed to elicit a targeted immune response. This approach has the range to address both disease applications in which an immunostimulatory effect would be desired (e.g., cancer, infectious disease) or those in which an immunosuppressive effect would be desired (e.g., autoimmune disorders, transplantation medicine). Overall, our technique presents a powerful and accessible strategy for preliminary in vivo assessment of potential immunotherapeutics.
