Systems Medicine, Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) e.V., Bonn, Germany.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Eur J Immunol. 2024 Feb;54(2):e2350519. doi: 10.1002/eji.202350519. Epub 2023 Dec 16.
The human immune system is best accessible via tissues and organs not requiring major surgical intervention, such as blood. In many circumstances, circulating immune cells correlate with an individual's health state and give insight into physiological and pathophysiological processes. Stimulating whole blood ex vivo is a powerful tool to investigate immune responses. In the context of clinical research, the applications of whole blood stimulation include host immunity, disease characterization, diagnosis, treatment, and drug development. Here, we summarize different setups and readouts of whole blood assays and discuss applications for preclinical research and clinical practice. Finally, we propose combining whole blood stimulation with high-throughput technologies, such as single-cell RNA-sequencing, to comprehensively analyze the human immune system for the identification of biomarkers, therapeutic interventions as well as companion diagnostics.
人体免疫系统最好通过不需要重大手术干预的组织和器官来研究，例如血液。在许多情况下，循环免疫细胞与个体的健康状况相关，并能深入了解生理和病理生理过程。体外刺激全血是研究免疫反应的有力工具。在临床研究的背景下，全血刺激的应用包括宿主免疫、疾病特征、诊断、治疗和药物开发。在这里，我们总结了全血测定的不同设置和检测方法，并讨论了它们在临床前研究和临床实践中的应用。最后，我们建议将全血刺激与高通量技术（如单细胞 RNA 测序）相结合，以全面分析人类免疫系统，从而鉴定生物标志物、治疗干预措施和伴随诊断。
