Detection of intracellular expression and secretion of interferon-gamma at the single-cell level after activation of human T cells with tetanus toxoid in vitro.

Activation of T cells results in intracellular expression and secretion of cytokines such as interferon (IFN)-gamma. Here we have used three different assays for determination of IFN-gamma in tetanus toxoid- or mitogen-activated human T cell cultures. Two of these assays [intracytoplasmic immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immuno spot assay (ELISPOT)] determined the expression and secretion of IFN-gamma at the single-cell level while the third assay enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measured IFN-gamma secreted into the culture supernatant. Comparison of all three tests revealed a good correlation between the ELISPOT assay and the ELISA, whereas expression of intracellular IFN-gamma showed a qualitative but not a quantitative correlation with the latter. Both the immunospot assay and the immunofluorescence may be used to detect approximate numbers of specific T cells even when present at low frequencies. With the use of the immunospot assay antigen-specific T cells could be detected even in the absence of detectable IFN-gamma in the culture supernatants. However, the ELISA assay should be more convenient for screening large clinical material.