Aim: Immune-checkpoint inhibitors are presumed to break down the tolerogenic state of immune cells by activating T-lymphocytes that release cytokines and enhance effector cell function for elimination of tumors. Measurement of cytokines is being pursued for better understanding of the mechanism of action of immune-checkpoint inhibitors, as well as to identify potential predictive biomarkers.
Results: In this study, we show bioanalytical qualification of cytokine assays in plasma on a novel multi-analyte immunoassay platform, Simple Plex™. The qualified assays exhibited excellent sensitivity as evidenced by measurement of all samples within the quantifiable range. The accuracy and precision were 80-120% and 10%, respectively.
Conclusion: The qualified assays will be useful in assessing mechanism of action cancer immunotherapies.
Keywords: PD-1; PD-L1; Simple Plex; T-cell activation markers; biomarkers; cytokines; immunoassay; multi-analyte; multiplex.