Chemiluminescence assay of in vivo inflammation

Abstract

The presence or amount of in vivo inflammation of a patient is determined by comparing the extent of opsonin receptor expression in vivo on phagocytes of a patient with the maximum opsonin receptor expression inducible on phagocytes of the patient in vitro after stimulation with a receptor expression priming agent. Preferably, the in vivo state of inflammation of a patient is determined by contacting a first portion of a phagocyte containing biological sample from the patient with a opsonified oxidative metabolism stimulating agent capable of elicting metabolic activation and with a chemiluminigenic substrate, contacting a second portion of the biological sample from the patient with an opsonin receptor expression priming agent, an opsonfield oxidative metabolism stimulating agent capable of eliciting metabolic activation and a chemiluminigenic substrate, and then comparing the chemiluminescence response of the first and second portions of the sample as a measure of the immune response potential or state of inflammation of the patient. Phagocyte function is additionally quantitatively evaluated by measuring the phagocyte oxygenation capacity of a maximally opsonin receptor primed and stimulated biological sample of a patient, determining the specific oxygenation capacity per phagocyte in the sample, and comparing the specific oxygenation capacity to a set of controls representing the normal distribution of specific oxygenation established from testing a large population. The phagocyte-specific oxygenation capacity is determined by contacting the sample with an opsonin receptor expression priming agent, an opsonified oxidative metabolism stimulating agent and a chemiluminigenic substrate, measuring the chemiluminescence response of the sample, determining the chemiluminescence response per phagocyte of the sample and comparing the response per phagocyte with that of the normal range of values. Kits and reagents are provided for use in the practice of the disclosed methods.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.