We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Predictive T-Cell Test Detects Immune Response to Viruses Even Before Antibodies Form

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 02 Oct 2023
Print article
Image: A new test could detect the body’s adaptive immune response to viruses (Photo courtesy of 123RF)
Image: A new test could detect the body’s adaptive immune response to viruses (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

The adaptive immune system is an incredible defense mechanism that allows the human body to identify and mount targeted responses against specific pathogens. T-Cells, a special kind of white blood cell, are crucial for directing these immune reactions. These cells have specialized structures called T-Cell receptors that enable them to spot and bind to antigens on infected or abnormal cells. Evaluating T-Cells could offer a more precise understanding of immunity because the immune response from T-Cells generally endures longer than that from antibodies. Now, a new test intended to detect the body’s adaptive immune response to viruses can help respond to future viral threats.

Virax Biolabs (London, UK) is developing the ViraxImmune test, which is designed to measure T-Cell activation when a blood sample encounters a set of proteins simulating viral exposure in the body. Unlike antibodies, T-Cells serve as coordinators of the immune system's fight against viral invasion. Detecting these cells could provide insights into natural resistance against diseases for those who haven't been infected and could also help gauge the level of long-term immunity that someone has after recovering from a viral infection. The ViraxImmune test aims to identify T-Cells that remain in the body long after the initial immune response from antibodies, due to vaccination or infection, has faded. This is expected to offer a more accurate view of long-term immunity compared to just measuring antibody levels.

The ViraxImmune test has additional capabilities. It can identify if someone had been previously exposed to a virus even when initial antibody responses have faded or vanished. It's also possible that someone could have some level of immunity to a virus without ever having been exposed to it. For healthcare providers, the test serves as a sophisticated diagnostic tool that can detect early immune responses, sometimes even before antibodies have a chance to develop. This can enable healthcare providers to make decisions that are tailored to each patient's specific immune characteristics. For individuals being tested, this opens up the possibility of earlier interventions, more closely monitored conditions, and treatment plans that are customized to their needs. The test is structured to fit smoothly into current healthcare workflows, delivering timely and accurate results.

Related Links:
Virax Biolabs 

Gold Member
Fully Automated Cell Density/Viability Analyzer
BioProfile FAST CDV
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Blood Gas and Chemistry Analysis System
Edan i500
New
Amoebiasis Test
ELI.H.A Amoeba

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The tiny clay-based materials can be customized for a range of medical applications (Photo courtesy of Angira Roy and Sam O’Keefe)

‘Brilliantly Luminous’ Nanoscale Chemical Tool to Improve Disease Detection

Thousands of commercially available glowing molecules known as fluorophores are commonly used in medical imaging, disease detection, biomarker tagging, and chemical analysis. They are also integral in... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The ready-to-use DUB enzyme assay kits accelerate routine DUB activity assays without compromising data quality (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Sensitive and Specific DUB Enzyme Assay Kits Require Minimal Setup Without Substrate Preparation

Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are two important physiological processes in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, responsible for protein degradation in cells. Deubiquitinating (DUB) enzymes contain around... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.