Cohen Limor, Keegan Alissa, Melanson Stacy E F, Walt David R
Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, United States; Department of Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
Clin Biochem. 2019 Mar;65:38-44. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2019.01.001. Epub 2019 Jan 8.
In this study, we evaluated the impact of clinical sample handling and processing on IL-6, IL-10, IFNγ, and IL-2 measurements in plasma.
We collected whole blood samples and analyzed various pre-analytical parameters. We assessed the following: 1) cytokine stability in whole blood that was stored over a ten-hour period at room temperature and 4 °C; 2) cytokine stability in plasma over 6 h; 3) vigorous sample handling including repeated dropping and transport through a pneumatic transport system; and 4) freeze-thaw stability of cytokines in plasma. To ensure ability to measure IL-6, IL-10, IFNγ, and IL-2 levels in plasma, we used Simoa, an ultra-sensitive immunoassay platform.
We show that whole blood storage at room temperature results in decreased cytokine levels and that whole blood storage at 4 °C results in greater cytokine stability. We also show that cytokines are stable when whole blood samples are subjected to vigorous sample handling. Lastly, we show that cytokines are stable in plasma over three freeze-thaw cycles.
Clinical sample handling and processing can affect measurements of IL-6, IL-10, IFNγ, and IL-2 in plasma. We believe this study will be a useful reference for future studies in which these cytokines are used as potential biomarkers.
在本研究中，我们评估了临床样本处理和加工对血浆中白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、白细胞介素-10（IL-10）、干扰素γ（IFNγ）和白细胞介素-2（IL-2）测量值的影响。
我们采集了全血样本并分析了各种分析前参数。我们评估了以下内容：1）在室温及4℃下储存10小时的全血中细胞因子的稳定性；2）6小时内血浆中细胞因子的稳定性；3）剧烈的样本处理，包括反复滴加以及通过气动传输系统运输；4）血浆中细胞因子的冻融稳定性。为确保能够测量血浆中IL-6、IL-10、IFNγ和IL-2的水平，我们使用了超灵敏免疫分析平台Simoa。
我们发现室温下储存全血会导致细胞因子水平降低，而4℃下储存全血可使细胞因子具有更高的稳定性。我们还发现，当全血样本进行剧烈的样本处理时，细胞因子是稳定的。最后，我们表明细胞因子在血浆中经过三个冻融循环后仍保持稳定。
临床样本处理和加工会影响血浆中IL-6、IL-10、IFNγ和IL-2的测量值。我们相信这项研究将为未来将这些细胞因子用作潜在生物标志物的研究提供有用的参考。
