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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
In Vitro ELISA Test to Evaluate Rabies Vaccine Potency
Published on: May 11, 2020
Comparison of separated-lymphocyte and whole-blood lymphocyte proliferation assays for evaluating rabies-induced
S Kasempimolporn1, N Narakorn, A Saikasem
1Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute (WHO Collaborating Center for Research in Rabies Pathogenesis), Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
A whole-blood lymphocyte assay offers a simpler alternative to the standard peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) method for measuring rabies-specific immune responses. This whole-blood approach provides equivalent, and sometimes higher, results with added convenience.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Standard methods for assessing cell-mediated immunity, such as lymphocyte proliferation assays, often require laborious isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
- Evaluating immune responses to vaccines like rabies is crucial for understanding vaccine efficacy and individual protection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of a whole-blood lymphocyte proliferation assay against the standard PBMC isolation method.
- To determine if whole-blood assays can accurately quantify cell-mediated immune responses to rabies vaccination.
Main Methods:
- A whole-blood lymphocyte proliferation assay was performed and compared to a standard assay using isolated PBMC.
- Both methods assessed cell-mediated immune responses in individuals vaccinated against rabies.
Main Results:
- Whole-blood assays yielded moderately higher lymphoproliferative responses (stimulation indices) compared to assays using separated PBMC.
- Results from both methods were considered equivalent for quantifying cellular reactivity to rabies.
Conclusions:
- The whole-blood lymphocyte proliferation assay is a viable and potentially advantageous alternative to the standard PBMC isolation method.
- This simplified approach offers equivalent measurement of rabies-specific cellular immunity with improved practicality.
Abstract:
A whole-blood lymphocyte proliferation assay was compared to a standard method requiring the isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Both methods were used to measure the cell-mediated immune responses to rabies in rabies-vaccine recipients. Whole-blood cells gave moderately higher lymphoproliferative responses in terms of stimulation indices than did separated-PBMC. The results obtained from these two methods can be considered equivalent for the purpose of quantitating cellular reactivity to rabies. The use of whole blood has advantages over the standard isolated-PBMC method.
