Dual- and triple-color fluorospot.

Cytokine ELISPOT has become a powerful routine tool for the analysis of disease- as well as vaccine-induced T-cell responses. The method is limited, however, in that only one cytokine at a time is assessed. Fluorospot is based on the principle of ELISPOT, but facilitates the analysis of single cells secreting several cytokines, e.g., polyfunctional T cells, suggested to be of protective importance in various infectious diseases. By detecting each cytokine with a specific fluorophore and analyzing differentially colored spots by fluorophore--specific filter systems, cells producing single or multiple cytokines are identified. Fluorospot maintains the simplicity and sensitivity of the ELISPOT while taking the analysis a step forward toward multiplex analysis.