Abstract
Cell-mediated immunologic responses to various inflammatory and infectious disease processes have provided important insights into the biology of the immune system. As a measure of immune function, various cytokines are currently being measured in serum/plasma samples or in tissue culture supernatants after antigen/mitogen stimulation (1)(2)(3). When testing for proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), it is essential that all reagents and supplies are free from contamination with endotoxin and other bacteria-derived components with cell-stimulatory activity. For example, certain commercial preparations of fetal bovine serum and heat shock protein have been shown to contain endotoxin at concentrations that induce TNFα production by monocytes/macrophages (4)(5). Vacutainer® blood collection tubes (Becton Dickinson) are routinely used by clinical laboratories to collect anticoagulated whole-blood samples for functional immunologic testing. During a study examining mitogen-induced proinflammatory cytokine production, we discovered that 5-mL glass sodium heparin Vacutainer Tubes (lot no. 3224585) were mitogenic and capable of inducing TNFα and IL-6 production by monocytes. Blood from …
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