Abstract
This chapter presents the methods that have been useful in assessing cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in vivo . These techniques involve the elicitation of cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions. In a study, the efferent arm of the immune response was tested by injecting a series of bacterial, fungal, and viral antigens intradermally and measuring the delayed reactions. In addition, the patient's capability for de novo immune response was tested by applying 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) on the skin and challenging the patient with graded doses of the chemical 2–3 weeks later. The use of skin tests for delayed hypersensitivity continues to be of value in the assessment of CMI in patients. Individuals with normal CMI are expected to react to at least one of the intradermal skin tests and to develop contact hypersensitivity to 100 μg of DNCB. Intradermal tests for preexisting immunity appears to have more inherent technical difficulties than de novo tests for contact sensitization. A disadvantage of intradermal testing is that the presence of antibodies to the test antigen may interfere with delayed reactions in various ways.
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