Microchip Assesses Immune Function

A new generation of microchips can assess quickly and inexpensively immune function by examining biomarkers from single cells.

A thousand or so single immune cells of defined types are captured on the single cell barcode chip and their functional behavior read out by recording the levels of a dozen functional, secreted proteins for each captured cell. The resultant information, which is contained in barcodes, provides a rich and detailed view into the status of the patient's immune system.

Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech; Pasadena, CA, USA) developed the new generation of microchips and reported on their advanced technology in the May 22, 2011 online issue of Nature Medicine.

In 2008, James Heath, the Elizabeth W. Gilloon professor of chemistry at Caltech and corresponding author of the present study led the development of a "barcode chip" that, using just a pinprick's worth of blood, could measure the concentrations of dozens of proteins, including those that herald the presence of diseases like cancer and heart disease. This latest single-cell barcode chip (SCBC) device builds upon the success of that initial design, which is currently being utilized in diagnostic medical testing of certain cancer patients.

The technology is minimally invasive, cost-effective, and highly informative. The goal is to help physicians closely track the effectiveness of a therapy, and to rapidly alter or switch that therapy for the maximum benefit of the patient.

"Application of this technology provides an unprecedented understanding of the human immune system by allowing an efficient and multiplexed functional readout of immune responses using limiting numbers of lymphocytes," said Antoni Ribas, associate professor of medicine and physician who led the clinical trial portion of the study at University of California Los Angeles' Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCLA; USA).

Related Links:
California Institute of Technology
University of California Los Angeles Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center