An in-vitro process for the quick determination of the infection status of an infection with an influenza virus type

摘要

Disclosed is an in-vitro process for the quick determination of the infection status of an infection with an influenza virus type from whole blood in terms of an acute influenza infection or a pre-immunisation after previous, overcome influenza infection or induced immune response due to vaccination, comprising the steps of: - stimulating an antigen-specific T cell that is present in a first sample of whole blood with antigens of the influenza virus type, optionally in the presence of antibodies against CD28, or CD28 and CD49d; -processing of influenza antigens by antigen-presenting cells (APC) by incubation for a sufficient time, at 35 °C to 39 °C, optionally with adding CO2; - then adding a secretion inhibitor; - effecting an intensive mixing; - followed by a second incubation step for a period of at least 1 h, at a temperature of from 35°C to 39°C, and - determining a profile from both the intracellular INF-gamma production and the intracellular IL-2 production of the antigen-specific T cell;wherein - the presence of an acute influenza infection is indicated by a shift of the profile towards IFN-gamma single positive cells accompanied by a ratio of IFN-gamma/IL-2 single positive T cells larger than 1 compared to the ratio of IFN-gamma/IL-2 single positive T cells of patients successfully vaccinated against, pre-infected or non-infected by the influenza virus which is smaller than 1.