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Immunology Multiplex Assays: Profile More Immune Biomarkers Faster

Immunology Multiplex Assays

Quantifying cytokines and other proteins is important for understanding pathological states such as inflammation, sepsis, and diseases such as autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, neurological disorders, and cancer. Our wide-ranging and industry-leading immunology multiplex panel offering includes kits to measure cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, soluble cytokine receptors, checkpoint proteins, complement proteins, autoimmune autoantibodies, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), sepsis-related proteins, skin biomarkers, and immunoglobulins. Popular analytes are described in Table 1.

Learn how MILLIPLEX® cytokine multiplex kits are used at the Forsyth Institute Multiplex Core in Cambridge, MA in this video.

Table 1.Select popular analytes of immune biomarkers in MILLIPLEX® multiplex immunology assays. See the full list of analytes and MILLIPLEX® multiplex kits in the latest Analyte Quarterly.

Based on Luminex® xMAP® technology, our MILLIPLEX® multiplex immunology assays enable precise, multiparametric analysis of diseases and underlying processes.

Applications of Multiplexing Immune Biomarkers

There are many applications of multiplexing immune biomarkers. This includes:

Below describes examples of how multiplex immunology assays can be used in immunology studies.

Cytokines, Chemokines, and Growth Factors

Acting at the recognition, activation, or effector phases of an immune response, cytokines modulate the development and functional activities of T cells, B cells, and myeloid cells. Using immunology multiplex assays to quantify cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors helps advance research by providing an understanding of various pathological states related to the immune system. Multiplexing allows researchers to investigate analytes simultaneously, saving time, sample, and resources. This is especially critical to immunology research, where numerous immune biomarkers play a role in different pathways.

Learn more about our latest MILLIPLEX® Human and Non-Human Primate Cytokine/Chemokine/Growth Factor multiplex panels.

Interferons are widely expressed cytokines that have potent antiviral and antiproliferative effects. These cytokines are the first line of defense against viral infections and have important roles in immunosurveillance for malignant cells. Figure 1 shows the parallelism of a selection of interferons that the MILLIPLEX® Human Interferon Multiplex Panel can help analyze.

Graphs of the parallelism (linearity) of dilution of interferons IFNα2, IFNλ2, IFNλ3, and IFNγ with the MILLIPLEX® Human Interferon Multiplex Panel (Cat. No. HIFN-130K)

Figure 1.Parallelism/Linearity of dilution using the MILLIPLEX® Human Interferon Panel. IFNα2, IFNλ2, and IFNλ3 analyses were performed with unspiked samples, and IFNγ analysis was performed with spiked samples. Samples were diluted 1:2 as indicated in the protocol and then further diluted as noted in the figure.

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The Complement System

The complement system consists of three pathways.

  • The classical pathway is stimulated by antigen-antibody complexes
  • The alternative pathway spontaneously activates on contact with pathogenic cell surfaces
  • The mannose-binding lectin (MBL) pathway recognizes mannose sugars usually present only on pathogenic cell surfaces.

The ability to assess levels of multiple complement proteins in samples to determine complement profiles enables a more accurate characterization of changes in inflammation signaling and innate immune response. The MILLIPLEX® Human Complement panels are used to simultaneously determine levels of 13 key complement proteins in serum or plasma. Example analyte data from one of these panels is shown in Figure 2.

Graphs showing healthy serum/plasma complement levels (n=17) using MILLIPLEX® Human Complement Panel 2.

Figure 2.Healthy serum/plasma complement levels (n=17) using Human Complement Panel 2.

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Immune Response and Sepsis Biomarker Analysis

While an immune response is critical for maintaining homeostasis, a hyper-reaction to infection, whether bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic, can result in an uncontrolled inflammatory response called sepsis. This hyper-reaction to infection interrupts homeostasis through an uninhibited inflammatory response, including upregulation of sepsis biomarkers, as well as increased apoptosis of lymphoid organs that leads to immune suppression. Severe sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) can cause septic shock, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), and death. The MILLIPLEX® Human Sepsis Panels help you understand the role of inflammatory biomarkers involved in sepsis.

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Isotyping Human and Mouse Immunoglobulins

Produced by plasma cells and lymphocytes, immunoglobulins (Igs) are crucially involved in immune response, attaching to antigens and playing a role in their destruction. Igs can be classified by isotype, classes that differ in function and antigen response due to structure variability. Five major isotypes are IgM, IgG, IgA, IgE, and IgD – all found in healthy individuals. Some autoimmune diseases, gastrointestinal conditions, and malignancies are characterized by specific isotype deficiencies or varying concentrations of one or more isotypes. Disease states can range from the absence of one isotype class or subclass to a total deficiency of Ig classes.

Researchers can quantitate Ig classes and subclasses simultaneously with MILLIPLEX® Isotyping Kits. The xMAP® multiplex technology is ideal for measuring levels of these isotypes, not only decreasing the number of assays as well as the amount of sample required, but also greatly reducing the possible inaccuracies that result from performing multiple assays.

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Fibrosis

Fibrosis and related diseases are responsible for an increasing burden of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The MILLIPLEX® Fibrosis Panel 1 enables researchers to advance the understanding of the complex processes associated with fibrotic diseases, including but not limited to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, liver fibrosis, and lung fibrosis. Figure 3 shows some example analyte data from this panel.

Graphs showing serum/plasma concentrations for each analyte in MILLIPLEX® Fibrosis Panel 1 from healthy individuals (n=20), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; n=7), scleroderma (n=10), Sjögren’s Syndrome (n=4), rheumatoid arthritis (n=4), cystic fibrosis (n=5), pulmonary fibrosis (n=5), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH; n=6).

Figure 3.Serum/plasma concentrations for each analyte in Cat. No. HFIB1-100K from healthy individuals (n=20), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; n=7), scleroderma (n=10), Sjögren’s Syndrome (n=4), rheumatoid arthritis (n=4), cystic fibrosis (n=5), pulmonary fibrosis (n=5), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH; n=6).

Popular Immunology Kits

Explore our popular MILLIPLEX® immunology kits.

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For Research Use Only. Not For Use In Diagnostic Procedures.

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