Low Abundance Biomarkers of Inflammation Quantified in Crohn's Disease

A new generation of molecular diagnostic tests was used to measure biomarkers of inflammation from patients with Crohn's disease.

The precise measurement of low abundance cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) using a high sensitivity digital enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) allowed significant changes to be detected in patients before and after initiation of therapy. The assays showed that anti-TNF-α drugs reduced plasma free cytokine concentrations.

Quanterix Corporation (Cambridge, MA, USA), a company enabling a new generation of molecular diagnostic tests based on its Single Molecule Array (SiMoA) technology, announced results of a pilot study to measure biomarkers of inflammation from patients with Crohn's disease. The study was published online on July 27, 2011, in the Journal of Immunological Methods.

Martin Madaus, PhD, Quanterix executive chairman commented, "Although larger studies will be needed to fully understand the potential utility of cytokine measurements in the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's, these results provide some indication of how sensitive and precise protein measurements enabled by SiMoA could be used clinically."

SiMoA technology is being developed by Quanterix Corporation for the in vitro diagnostics and life science research markets. The digital nature of SiMoA yields a 1,000–fold improvement in sensitivity compared with conventional immunoassays. SiMoA will enable life science investigators to validate novel, low abundance biomolecules from a single droplet of blood, leading to greater insight into disease detection, diagnosis, therapy selection, and disease monitoring.

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