Cellular Activation Detector

About

Introduction: Cellular activations are important responses when studying signaling pathways when there is a foreign antibody or pathogen. Neutralization assays or molecular methods that use biological and chemical probes to detect and quantify cellular signals require specific reagents and complex protocols. These processes also require hours of experiments and may take up to months to purchase and collect all the materials needed. There is an unmet need to efficiently detect and study cellular and/or humoral responses to stimuli better understand disease pathogenesis. Technology: Georgia State University researchers have developed a relatively simple and direct method to detect cellular responses to stimuli, such as ligand-receptor interactions. Such interactions can take place within seconds-to-minutes, and this method can detect these interactions within minutes after they occur. This allowed cells to be used as biosensors to detect cell activating agents, such as pathogens (e.g. virus, bacteria, or yeast), allergens, and antibodies. Data demonstrate that spectral markers could be identified through ATR-FTIR after ligation of the CD3 receptor with anti CD3 antibody. This technique can potentially be used to identify specific agents via the responses of the cell biosensor at different time points postexposure.