Activation of CD4+ T cells requires the recognition of peptides that are presented by HLA class II molecules and can be assessed experimentally using the ELISpot assay. However, even given an individual's HLA class II genotype, identifying which class II molecule is responsible for a positive ELISpot response to a given peptide is not trivial. The two main difficulties are the number of HLA cla...

Recent studies in the SIV-macaque model of HIV infection suggest that Nef-specific CD8+ T-cell responses may mediate highly effective immune control of viraemia. In HIV infection Nef recognition dominates in acute infection, but in large cohort studies of chronically infected subjects, breadth of T cell responses to Nef has not been correlated with significant viraemic control. Improved disease...

EBV is a gammaherpesvirus that can establish both nonproductive (latent) and productive (lytic) infections within the cells of its host. Although T cell responses to EBV latent proteins have been well characterized, little is known about the importance of responses to lytic proteins in long term virus carriers. Here we have compared the frequencies of CD8+ T cells specific for EBV latent and ly...

The quantification of frequency of IFN-γ-producing T cells responding to donor alloantigen using the IFN-γ enzyme linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT) holds potential for pretransplant and posttransplant immunological risk stratification. The effectiveness of this assay, and the ability to compare results generated by different studies, is dependent on the utilization of a standardized operating...

An automated method for counting spot-forming units in the ELISpot assay is described that uses a statistical model fit to training data that is based on counts from one or more experts. The method adapts to variable background intensities and provides considerable flexibility with respect to what image features can be used to model expert counts. Point estimates of spot counts are produced tog...

background: timely diagnosis of leptospirosis is essential for early and effective treatment, for there are many differential diagnoses for it.. leptospiral researchers have an increasing interest in developing new serological methods with recombinant antigens to improve the leptospirosis diagnosis. several serological tests have been developed for the proper diagnosis of leptospirosis. objecti...

objectives: leptin is a hormone-like protein produced by the adipose tissue. it plays an important role in protection of host against inflammation and infection. some studies have reported changes in leptin levels in the gingival crevicular fluid (gcf), saliva and blood serum of patients with periodontal disease compared to healthy individuals. the aim of the present study was to compare the sa...

materials and methods in this descriptive study, 2988 stool samples of patients with acute gastroenteritis were collected from children’s hospitals of 5 main cities of iran. the samples were sent in frozen condition to pediatric infection research center in tehran and stored at -70°c. elisa test was performed for detection of rotavirus antigens. the mean age of study population was 1 to 5 years...

Introduction ELISPOT assays are primarily used to detect the number of T cells that respond to a given antigen. With that number being absolute for any given donor sample, ELISPOT counts should be similar between laboratories, if subjectivity in counting is avoided. Due to the differences in spot sizes ranging from microns to millimeters, setting cut offs for minimal and maximal spot sizes will...

While the detection of serological response is well described and objects of numerous guidance, much less information is available on validation of methodology for the detection of cellular immunologic response responses. A recently developed approach uses tetrameric complexes of HLA molecules to stain antigen-specific T cells in FACS analysis. Tetramer staining presents advantages over traditi...