SPRING 2009

"This concise, quarterly news bulletin is designed to help keep you up to date on the newest test
offerings available from IBT. We hope it is informative, and look forward to hearing from you.”

-- Maureen Loftus, President, IBT Labs
NEW!
Immune Deficiency

The T cell Fx™ test is for evaluation of primary immune deficiency, recurrent infections and immune suppression monitoring. By measuring T cell responses to microbial antigens, this test provides a quantitative indication of the patient’s immune response. The test measures T cell activation by CD69 upregulation and interferon gamma production. This method provides a rapid turnaround time compared to the lymphocyte proliferation assay. In addition it has the added specificity of measuring T cell activation and not generalized lymphocyte activation.
  • T cell Fx™ – Complete: For primary immune deficiencies and recurrent infections;
    Test Code 403066
  • T cell Fx™ – Select: For immunosuppression monitoring; Test Code 403065
The TLR function test is another new assay to help evaluate patients with recurrent infection for whom standard immune assessments have been uninformative. In this assay the patient’s blood cells are stimulated with a panel of TLR ligands and the level of TNF-alpha is measured. Patients with mutations in NEMO and IRAK4 are unable to produce TNF-alpha following TLR ligand stimulation. Test Code: 403091.

The Pneumococcal Avidity tests evaluate not only the concentration of antibody that a patient has, but also the avidity of the antibody for the pneumococcal antigen. The ability to generate higher avidity antibodies is a key aspect of a fully functional immune response. Avidity function is an important determinant of protective efficacy against pneumococci. There is a strong correlation between avidity and opsonophagocytic activity. (Multiple test codes) 		Evaluating Adverse Drug Reactions

Pinpointing the cause of adverse drug reactions can be challenging for physicians and patients. Depending on the type of reaction, IBT offers a range of assays designed to help identify the cause.

For Type I Reactions, we offer:
  • ImmunoCAP – measurement of serum IgE;
  • BasoFunction – analysis of basophil histamine release following drug stimulation;
  • LeukoFunction – leukotriene release analysis following drug stimulation
For Type IV Reactions, we offer:

The new T cell Rx™ assay evaluates patients with type IV adverse drug reactions (delayed hypersensitivity). Patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells are incubated with the drug of interest and T cell activation is measured. (Multiple test codes)

IN THE NEWS —
Milk and Egg Allergies

Recent articles in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology have investigated food allergies in children and adults.

Egg Allergies: Doctors from Mt. Sinai’s Department of Pediatrics and Jaffe Food Allergy Institute published a study of 117 children with documented IgE mediated egg allergy and found that only 23% reacted to heated egg. Furthermore, the authors found the evaluation of IgE and IgG4 levels to not only egg, but specific egg proteins (ovalbumin and ovomucoid) useful. 		Milk Allergy: Physicians from the same institution reported last August that 75% of children with milk allergy tolerated heated milk. They posited that there are at least two different types of IgE-mediated milk allergy. Again the authors found the evaluation of IgE and IgG4 levels to not only milk, but milk proteins (casein and β-lactoglobulin) useful. IgE and IgG4 levels against these specific milk and egg proteins are available at IBT. 

Delayed Beef Allergy: Dr. Scott P. Cummins and colleagues evaluated adults suffering from delayed reactions following the consumption of red meat. They found that patients had IgE specific antibodies to the meat products. These IgE antibodies were specific for galactose-α-1,3-galactose. This demonstrated that IgE can mediate delayed reactions.


Recent Additions
to Our Menu
  • Soluble E-Selectin: To monitor disease activity in atopic dermatitis, localized scleroderma, and systemic sclerosis.
  • LeukoFunction: Adds to our menu of tests to pinpoint the cause of immediate adverse drug reactions. Can also be useful in evaluating pseudoallergic reactions.
  • Anti-IgE: Measures IgG antibodies specific to IgE, which can aid in the evaluation of patients with chronic urticaria, atopic dermatitis and Hyper IgE Syndrome.
  • ProGenotyper™ Filaggrin Mutation Detection Test: Detects the presence of “loss of function” mutations in the filaggrin gene. Patients with a loss of function in this gene may be candidates
    for targeted lipid-replacement therapy.