Oxford Immunotec releases T-SPOT Discovery SARS-CoV-2 kit for research into measuring T cell immune response to SARS-CoV-2
Oxford Immunotec Global has released the T-SPOT Discovery SARS-CoV-2 test kit. The kit is for research use only and could make a significant contribution towards development of a new tool to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
T-SPOT Discovery SARS-CoV-2 builds on Oxford Immunotec’s experience with TB diagnosis and the assessment of immune response to CMV in transplant patients, to apply the Company’s established, proprietary T-SPOT technology to the fight against COVID-19.
While serology is able to detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in the blood of some individuals after infection, little is known about how this confers immunity to COVID-19. T-SPOT technology goes further than simple serology by interrogating the immune system’s T cell response and will enable research into the measurement of the strength of that response to SARS-CoV-2. The strength of this response may be linked to protection from reinfection.
Commenting on the technology, Phill Keefe, Senior Vice President Product Design, Development and Delivery at Oxford Immunotec, said: “Not everyone with COVID-19 infection has detectable antibodies in serology tests, and this may be a bigger problem in the majority who experience only mild or no symptoms. Also, it is not yet clear whether the presence of anti-bodies confers immunity. T cell responses develop before antibody generation and can independently provide protection, so studying T cells could give us new insights into immunity to COVID-19.”
T-SPOT technology is approved in over 60 countries for clinical use to detect TB infection. With over 20 million clinical tests since release, T-SPOT technology:
- Uses a standardized sample prepared from peripheral blood which:
– Reduces the influence of factors which might affect results, such as other treatments
– Standardises cell numbers in the test to normalise for cell number variations between samples - Allows the number of responding T cells to be enumerated for a more precise assessment of the T cell response
- Is able to maintain performance, even in samples from immunosuppressed individuals
- Can be run in high-volume labs enabling large testing programs to be rolled out.
T-SPOT technology can also be automated using the T-Cell Select reagent kit. Automation solutions are available for low, medium and high throughput settings.
For more information, visit: go.oxfordimmunotec. com/t-spot_discovery_SARS_CoV-2
Supplier: Immunotech Inc
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