title: Expression of functional human recombinant interleukin-12 and development of a new reliable bioassay by interferon-gamma ELISPOT.
abstract: Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is one of the important cytokines for promoting the differentiation and maturation of type 1 T helper cells and facilitating the initiation of cell-mediated immune responses. Because of its multi-functional roles in anti-tumor and anti-viral immunity, IL-12 is considered a promising therapeutic cytokine in immunotherapy against cancer and infectious diseases. To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy, an easy and reliable quantitative assay for functional IL-12 is essential. Presently, IL-12 concentration is often determined by ELISA or RIA, which may or may not correlate with IL-12 biological function. Established IL-12 bioassays are based on a time-consuming lymphocyte proliferation assay and require freshly isolated peripheral blood lymphocytes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000032:analysis*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D014162:Transfection / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D018664:Interleukin-12; D007371:Interferon-gamma