Prediction of cytokine release: using gene expression protile analysis

Cytokines are signal transmitters in complex regulatory networks, which modify the behaviour of cells of the immune system. They are used to monitor the immunological reaction to various agents. With the adequate knowledge of cytokine expression kinetics one could circumvent the need for repeated protein measurements. We correlate here the release of four key cytokines on mRNA and protein level and present methods for quality control and save costs in an academic laboratory. Gene expression of stimulated cells was analyzed with RT-PCR and cytokine concentrations in supernatants of PBMC cell culture were determined in multiplex with a bead-based suspension-array system. mRNA expression was shown to have a predictive quality for cytokine release.