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Single-cell Analysis of Immunophenotype and Cytokine Production in Peripheral Whole Blood via Mass Cytometry
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Single-cell Analysis of Immunophenotype and Cytokine Production in Peripheral Whole Blood via Mass Cytometry

Published on: June 26, 2018

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Single-cell deep phenotyping of cytokine release unmasks stimulation-specific biological signatures and distinct

Kevin Portmann1, Aline Linder1, Nicole Oelgarth1

  • 1Laboratory for Functional Immune Repertoire Analysis, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.

Cell Reports Methods
|August 3, 2023
PubMed

Insights

This study introduces a novel microfluidic platform for dynamic, single-cell cytokine secretion analysis. The advanced assay reveals distinct immune cell subpopulations and secretion dynamics, improving risk assessment for immunotherapies.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Biotechnology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Cytokines are crucial immune mediators, but their dysregulated secretion can cause adverse effects like cytokine release syndromes.
  • Immunotherapies can induce cytokine dysregulation, necessitating robust risk assessment during drug development.
  • Traditional cytokine release assays (CRAs) lack insight into heterogeneous cellular dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an advanced single-cell microfluidic platform for dynamic quantification of cytokine secretion.
  • To overcome the limitations of current CRAs in assessing cellular heterogeneity.
  • To gain deeper insights into immune cell secretion behavior and stimulation pathways.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a single-cell microfluidic-based platform for cytokine secretion analysis.
  • Dynamic quantification of cytokine secretion at the single-cell level.
  • Analysis of distinct immune cell subpopulations and their secretion profiles.

Main Results:

  • The platform identified diverse secretion dynamics, quantities, and phenotypically distinct subpopulations for various cytokines.
  • Early measurements (1 hour) revealed distinct stimulation-dependent secretion dynamics and cytokine signatures.
  • The approach provided high sensitivity and dynamic resolution, offering insights into individual immune cell secretion.

Conclusions:

  • The developed microfluidic platform enables dynamic, single-cell analysis of cytokine secretion.
  • This technology enhances understanding of immune cell behavior and cytokine release pathways.
  • The platform offers crucial information for improved risk assessment in drug development and immunotherapy.

Keywords:
cytokine release assaycytokine secretiondroplet microfluidicsfunctional quantificationsingle-cell analysis

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