Measurement of Myeloid Cell Immune Suppressive Activity

This unit presents simple methods to assess the immunosuppressive properties of immunoregulatory cells of myeloid origin, such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), both in vitro and in vivo. These methods are general and could be adapted to test the impact of different suppressive populations on T cell activation, proliferation, and cytotoxic activity; moreover they could be useful to assess the influence exerted on immune suppressive pathways by genetic modifications, chemical inhibitors, and drugs. Curr. Protoc. Immunol. 91:14.17.1-14.17.25. © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: MDSC; immunosuppression; immunomagnetic sorting; thymidine incorporation; chromium release test; adoptive cell transfer