Immunology services for the development
of novel medicines

The innate or non-specific immune system provides immediate defence reactions against invading pathogens. Granulocytes, monocytes/macrophages, NK-cells, mast cells and dendritic cells are important cellular constituents of the innate immune system.

Cells of the innate immune system do not possess antigen-specific receptors but instead recognize conserved molecules expressed by large numbers of microorganisms. These conserved molecules are referred to as pathogen-associated molecular patterns or PAMPS and the corresponding receptors on cells of the innate immune system are called pattern-recognition receptors or PRRs.

Toll-like receptors (TLR) are an example for PRRs. TLRs recognize different types of molecules expressed by bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. Extensive research has allowed correlating TLRs with the molecules they recognize: e.g. the endotoxin LPS, which is widely expressed by gram negative bacteria, is recognized by TLR 4, while unmethylated CpG-DNA sequences, which distinguishes bacterial DNA from mammalian DNA, is recognized by TLR-9.

FOCUS Immunology has established a complete range of assays to functionally analyse the triggering of TLRs and the subsequent activation of the respective cell.

Ligands for the 9 well characterized human TLRs (TLR1 – TLR9) are used to stimulate Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) in vitro and analyze the secretion of the cytokine TNF-alpha.

This assay allows analyzing the effect any compound, whether NCE or NBE, may have on TLR-mediated stimulation of cells of the innate immune system.

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