Providing You a Range of High Complexity Testing Options for a More Complete Picture of the Immune System in the Following Areas:

  • Bone marrow and solid organ transplantation
  • Primary immune deficiencies
  • Acquired immune deficiency syndromes
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Hypersensitivity
  • Vaccine efficacy

Testing Innovation You Can Count On

Eurofins Viracor was among the first commercial labs to bring you innovative immunological testing such as Pneumococcal Antibody and Avidity panels, Autoimmune Chronic Urticaria and ImmuKnow® (immune cell function assay).  

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Cytokines

Cytokines have emerged as molecules of importance in the regulation of many immunologic processes in the cell. The ability to accurately measure quantitative and qualitative differences in cytokine production is becoming increasingly important to the understanding of normal and pathological processes.  Visit our test menu to see the complete menu of cytokines available. 

Pneumococcal Panels

Viracor offers Pneumococcal Antibody Panels (23, 14, 12 and 7 serotypes) that are important for determining specific Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype IgG antibody concentrations (titers) in patients prior to and after pneumococcal vaccinations. In patients with recurrent bacterial infections, or in patients suspected to have primary or secondary immunodeficiencies, pneumococcal antibody titers may be useful to evaluate the protective status of a patient and to assess humoral immune function.10-15

Antibody avidity functions are another important determinant of protective efficacy against Streptococcus pneumoniae, and the ability to generate higher avidity antibodies is a key aspect of a fully functional immune system.1-4 The avidity of antibodies induced by a vaccine is an independent correlate of protection and is an important supplement to the measurement of pneumococcal IgG antibody concentration (titers).1-9 Viracor’s Pneumococcal Avidity Panels measure antibody avidity to serotypes found in the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine Pneumovax 23® (PPV) and the pneumococcal conjugated vaccine Prevnar 13® (PCV).

Spotlight on Flow Cytometry and MSD testing platforms

The capability for analysis of both cell surface and intracellular components has made flow cytometry a well-established and essential tool in medical diagnostics, as well as pharmaceutical and clinical research. The fields of immunology, transplantation, hematology, genetics, cancer and HIV have particularly benefited due to flow cytometry’s capabilities to detect many parameters from a single cell in a rapid, accurate, non-invasive manner. Viracor uses flow cytometry to provide you with:

  • Assistance in the prognosis and monitoring of disease states
  • Drug therapy monitoring
  • Monitoring immunological response in transplant patients
  • Determining the adequacy of immunosuppressive therapies through T-cell analysis
  • Detecting subtle changes in cellular components
  • Determining mechanisms of infectious diseases

The rapid expansion in flow cytometry applications allow the testing platform to play an even larger role in medicine and systems biology in the future.

Using multiplex array format with Meso Scale Discovery (MSD®) Sector Imager 2400, MSD Cytokine assays measure from one to ten cytokines in a 96 well MULTI-SPOT plate. The assay employs a sandwich immunoassay format. MSD technology uses electrochemiluminescence detection; a CCD camera allows for the quantification of light emitted from each spot in each well. MSD software generates a standard curve to determine sample cytokine concentrations.

References

1. Fried AJ, Altrich ML, Liu H, Halsey JF, Bonilla FA. Correlation of Pneumococcal Antibody Concentration and Avidity with Patient Clinical and Immunologic Characteristics. J Clin Immunol. 2013 Feb. [Epub ahead of print]

2. Usinger WR, Lucas AH. Avidity as a determinant of the protective efficacy of human antibodies to pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides. Infect Immun. 1999 May;67(5):2366-70.

3. Ekstrom N, Ahman H, Verho J, et al. Kinetics and Avidity of Antibodies Evoked by Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines PncCRM and PncOMPC in the Finnish Otitis Media Vaccine Trial. Infect Immun. 2005 Jan;73(1):369-77.

4. Musher DM, Phan H M, Watson D A, Baughn R E. Antibody to capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae at the time of hospital admission for Pneumococcal pneumonia. J Infect Dis. 2000;182(1):158-67

5. Sun Y, Young-IL H, Moon NH. Avidity, Potency, and Cross-Reactivity of Monoclonal Antibodies to Pneumococcal Capsular Polysaccharide Serotype 6B. Infect Immun. 2001 Jan;69(1):336-44.

6. Romero-Steiner S, Musher DM, Cetron MS, Pais LB, Groover JE, Fiore AE, et al. Reduction in functional antibody activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae in vaccinated elderly individuals highly correlates with decreased IgG antibody avidity. Clin Infect Dis. 1999 Aug;29(2):281-8.

7. Vermont CL, van Dijken HH, van Limpt CJP, de Groot R, Van Alphen L, van den Dobbelsteen GPJM. Antibody Avidity and Immunoglobulin G Isotype Distribution following Immunization with a Monovalent Meningococcal B Outer Membrane Vesicle Vaccine. Infect Immun. 2002 Feb;70(2):584-590.

8. Pullen GR, Fitzgerald Margaret G, Hosking CS. Antibody avidity determination by ELISA using thiocyanate elution. J Immun Methods. 1986 Jan 22;86(1)83-87.

9. Lee LH, Frasch CE, Falk LA, Klein DL, Deal CD. Correlates of immunity for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. Vaccine. 2003 May 16;21(17-18):2190-6.

10. Orange JS, Ballow M, Stiehm ER, et al. Use and interpretation of diagnostic vaccination in primary immunodeficiency: a working group report of the Basic and Clinical Immunology Interest Section of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012 Sep;130(3 Suppl):S1-24.

11. Bonilla FA, Bernstein IL, Khan DA, et al. Practice parameter for the diagnosis and management of primary immunodeficiency. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005 May;94(5 Suppl 1): S1-63.

12. Schauer U, Stemberg F, Rieger CH, et al. Levels of antibodies specific to tetanus toxoid, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide in healthy children and adults. Clin & Diagn Lab Immunol. 2003 Mar;10(2):202-7.

13. Silk HJ, Zora JA, Goldstein J, Tinkleman DG and Schiffman G. Response to pneumococcal immunization in children with and without recurrent infections. J of Asthma. 998;35(1): 101-12.

14. Popa V, Kim K, Heiner DC. IgG deficiency in adults with recurrent respiratory infections. Annals Allergy. 1993 May;70(5):418-24.

15. Wheeler JG, Steiner D. Evaluation of humoral responsiveness in children. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1992 Apr;11(4):304-10.

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