Performance of the whole-blood stimulation assay for assessing innate immune activation under field conditions.

Abstract Innate propensity of immune activation is reflected in production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines upon stimulation of Toll-like receptors (TLR) in whole-blood stimulation assays. The validity of the whole-blood stimulation assay under field conditions has not been evaluated extensively. Here, we have determined correlation of individually repeated whole-blood stimulation assays in a field-study in Ghana and compared it with that of two Dutch populations performed under optimal conditions. We also examined cytokine production to various TLR-agonists in order to create an assay that would mimic general innate immune responses. Under field conditions repeated assessments of lipopolysaccharide-induced Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNFα) production were poorly correlated ( r  = 0.15, p  = 0.087). Correlation was relatively high for production of Interleukin-10 (IL10) ( r  = 0.48, p