DETECTION OF INTRACELLULAR PATHOGENS BY FLOW CYTOMETRY

许多感染人类的细胞内病原体不能诱导可检测的 抗体水平，直到疾病症状出现。 因此，早期 通过经典的基于抗体的血清学技术进行诊断， 有问题 在这种情况下，一个简单的，敏感的，具体的，快速的， 需要鉴定病原体本身的方法。 EntreMed 已经开发出专有技术，使用流式细胞术检测 细胞内病原体的特异性和敏感性筛选试验。 流 细胞计量术根据细胞群的大小、内部结构和细胞的形态来区分细胞群。 复杂性和抗体定义的表面标志物。 单克隆抗体 也可用于该系统中以识别细胞内的病原体。 的 这项建议的短期目标是改进和增加 流式细胞术诊断活动性乳腺癌的敏感性 利什曼感染 长期目标是发展 该方法作为一种平台技术，用于诊断 一系列的细胞内病原体 大多数医院常规使用流量 用于诊断某些疾病（HIV，白血病， 等）。 因此，一个明确界定的、技术上知情的商业市场 目前存在用于该测定的。 一家大型制药公司， 参与了概念的早期发展，仍然感兴趣的是， 技术的商业应用，如果可行的话 在第一阶段可以证明。

Many intracellular pathogens that infect man fail to induce detectable levels of antibodies until after disease symptoms appear. Thus, early diagnosis by classical antibody-based serological techniques is problematic. In such cases, an easy, sensitive, specific, and rapid method for identification of the pathogen itself is required. EntreMed has developed proprietary technology using flow cytometry to detect intracellular pathogens in specific and sensitive screening assays. Flow cytometry differentiates cell populations based on their size, internal complexity, and antibody-defined surface markers. Monoclonal antibodies can also be used in this system to identify pathogens inside cells. The short-term objective of this proposal is to refine and increase the sensitivity of a flow cytometric technique for diagnosis of active Leishmania-infections. The long-term objective, however, is to develop this method as a platform technology for diagnosis of infections caused by a range of intracellular pathogens. Most hospitals routinely use flow cytometric analyses for diagnosis of certain diseases (HIV, leukemia, etc.). Thus, a well defined, technologically informed commercial market presently exists for this assay. A large pharmaceutical company that participated in the concept's early development, remains interested in possible commercial application of the technology, if feasibility is demonstrable in Phase I.