International: Get to Know ImmuKnow

The ImmuKnow Principles

ImmuKnow is a noninvasive means of rapidly providing a biomarker of patient cellular immune status. Importantly, ImmuKnow provides a measure of immune function, not just CD4 counts which do not always reflect the actual status of the patient’s immune system.

The principles behind the patented ImmuKnow technology are briefly described here:

Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) is a nonspecific mitogen which can be used to stimulate cell division in CD4 T-lymphocytes regardless of their antigenic specificity or memory status. Therefore, PHA is considered to be a “global” stimulator of the immune system. The production of intracellular ATP is one of the first steps in cellular activation following stimulation with mitogens such as PHA.  ATP is a multifunctional nucleotide which plays an indispensible role in the transfer of intracellular chemical energy.

When a sample of patient blood is incubated with PHA, increased ATP production occurs within PHA-activated CD4 T-cells. These cells are then isolated by the addition of magnetic beads coated with anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody. The isolated CD4 cells are washed on a magnet tray and lysed to release intracellular ATP. The amount of measured light emitted following the addition of a luminescence reagent is proportional to the amount of ATP present.  An established calibration curve is then used to characterize the cellular immune function of the sample.