An Enhanced ELISPOT Assay for Sensitive Detection of Antigen-Specific T Cell Responses to Borrelia burgdorferi

Cells

Chenggang Jin²  Diana R. Roen²  Paul V. Lehmann¹ 

[1] Cellular Technology Limited, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Immunology, Pharmasan Labs, Inc., Osceola, WI 54020, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: Borrelia infection;    T cells;    interferon-γ;    ELISPOT;   

DOI  :  10.3390/cells2030607

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Lyme Borreliosis is an infectious disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi that is transmitted through the bite of infected ticks. Both B cell-mediated humoral immunity and T cell immunity develop during natural Borrelia infection. However, compared with humoral immunity, the T cell response to Borrelia infection has not been well elucidated. In this study, a novel T cell-based assay was developed and validated for the sensitive detection of antigen-specific T cell response to B. burgdorferi. Using interferon-γ as a biomarker, we developed a new enzyme-linked immunospot method (iSpot Lyme^TM) to detect Borrelia antigen-specific effector/memory T cells that were activated in vivo by exposing them to recombinant Borrelia antigens ex vivo. To test this new method as a potential laboratory diagnostic tool, we performed a clinical study with a cohort of Borrelia positive patients and healthy controls. We demonstrated that the iSpot Lyme assay has a significantly higher specificity and sensitivity compared with the Western Blot assay that is currently used as a diagnostic measure. A comprehensive evaluation of the T cell response to Borrelia infection should, therefore, provide new insights into the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of Lyme disease.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.