Overview HLA matching refers to the process of comparing the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types of a donor and a recipient to determine the degree of compatibility between them for organ and tissue transplantation. HLA are proteins found on the surface of cells that help the immune system recognize “self” from “non-self.”[1] HLA laboratories and clinicians determine histocompatibility between a patient and a donor by analyzing certain HLA genes, usually the 6 antigens at the HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 loci.[2] In general, the more of these HLA genes two people share in common, the better match they ..read more

eBook Overview Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) include lymphocytes, monocytes and dendritic cells and can be used in a variety of cell-based assays. PBMCs are critical for immunology research and clinical applications such as cell therapy and vaccine development due to their ability to provide valuable insights into immune responses in humans. The objective of this eBook is to provide a quick reference resource to scientists who need to isolate and culture PBMCs or develop assays to study their function. Research scientists transitioning from animal to human studies could find this ..read more

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and a number of risk factors have been identified including, but not limited to, diet, obesity, smoking, and physical activity. Certain biological processes, such as inflammation, have also been found to impact the development of atherosclerosis. Periodontitis, in particular, is an inflammatory condition linked to the development of atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular disease. Periodontal disease is a serious infection of the gums that affects up to 40% of the U.S. population.[1] The disease is caused by bacteria that accumulat ..read more

Gamma delta T cells are a subset of T cells that promote the inflammatory responses and are an essential component of the immune system. Although gamma delta (γδ) T cells only comprise approximately 5% of all T cells circulating in peripheral blood, they play an important role in fighting cancer.[1]A recent study published in OncoImmunology revealed that the amount of gamma delta T cells that infiltrate a tumor was the best predictor of a favorable outcome for certain types of cancer patients.[2] Despite the critical role gamma delta T cells play in immunity, researchers do not fully understan ..read more

Monocytes are white blood cells that originate from the bone marrow. They are a crucial element of the innate immune system. They can differentiate into monocyte-derived dendritic cells, tissue-resident macrophages, pro-inflammatory macrophages (M1), and anti-inflammatory macrophages (M2) based on cellular and cytokine signals. They regulate cell homeostasis, particularly in the setting of pathogens and inflammation.[1] In this article, we will describe the basic function and biology of monocytes, along with their applications in research and medicine. Introduction Human monocytes represent be ..read more

Cancer immunotherapy is at the leading edge of personalized medicine. Immunotherapy for patients with cancer involves the use of immune cells, often the patient’s own cells, to develop a treatment to target tumor cells. The two most widely studied cancer immunotherapies have been tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (or TIL) therapies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. Despite the promising outcomes for some patients treated with these approaches, some forms of cancer, such as pancreatic cancer, seem resistant. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most challenging ca ..read more

In this video, we will demonstrate how to thaw peripheral blood mononuclear cells,or PBMCs, for maximum cell viability and recovery. Human PBMCs are frequently used in the study of biological processes and drug development, and for applications such as in vitro cell-based assays. Fresh PBMCs are often cryopreserved and stored in liquid nitrogen if they are not needed immediately for research applications. Researchers with limited access to donors or ability to isolate immune cells from whole blood may purchase ready-to-use, cryopreserved PBMCs from biospecimen suppliers like Cytologics. RELA ..read more

Natural killer (NK) cells are a type of lymphocyte that spontaneously respond to stressed cells without any earlier exposure to an antigen by using their germline-encoded receptors.[1] NK cells are an important arm of the innate immune system and exert their effector functions as a standalone cell or in combination with other immune cells. They eliminate a range of cellular targets such as stressed, viral-infected, and cancer transformed cells. NK cells are directly activated by different molecular signals generated by stimulatory and inhibitory receptors from macrophages, dendritic cells ..read more

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell pellets, or PBMC pellets, are an important part of immunological research and molecular biology. PBMC pellets consist of innate and adaptive immune cells, including T cells, B cells, NK cells, dendritic cells and monocytes. Due to their ease-of-use and ability to provide a dynamic immunological model, PBMC pellets remain a favorite tool among biomedical researchers. PBMC pellets are an easily accessible source for protein and nucleic acids isolation (DNA and RNA). They are typically the starting material for quantitative mRNA analysis, western blot analysis an ..read more

Natural killer cells, or NK cells, are a type of cytotoxic lymphocytes associated with the rapidly growing group of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). They are an essential component of the innate immune system. They exhibit an immediate cytolytic response to the stressed cells, such as cancer cells and virus-infected cells.[1] In humans, they account for 5 to 20% of all the circulating lymphocytes. They are also known as large granular lymphocytes. Initially, natural killer cells were thought to originate from the bone marrow. However, recent studies have suggested that these innate immune cells c ..read more