BTL Biotechno Labs Pvt. Ltd.: A Trusted Partner for Cytokine ELISA Kits in India

Cytokines serve as essential signaling molecules for the cells, as they act as a chemical messenger for controlling a diverse range of biological processes in the body. All immunological and inflammatory responses, including intercellular signaling, cell proliferation, and cell death, are mediated by cytokines. These are the secreted proteins that are involved in both the inducer and effector phases.

Chemokines are small heparin-binding proteins that direct the movement of circulating leucocytes to the site of inflammation and injury. Chemokines are 8-10 kD proteins with 40-70% homology with amino acid sequences. Growth factors, which can be cytokines or protein hormones, promote responsive cell proliferation as well as differentiation and maturation.

In addition to immunological and inflammatory reactions, many other diseases like cancer and neurological diseases have also been linked with cytokines. The precise quantification of the concentrations of such cytokines within biological fluids like plasma, serum, or tissue culture samples might be helpful in understanding pathophysiological mechanisms underlying disease.

Multifaceted Roles of Cytokines

Numerous biological processes are accompanied by fluctuations in cytokine expression levels. including angiogenesis, apoptosis, cellular migration, inflammation, immune responses, inflammation, and many more, highlighting the role of cytokines in cellular physiology. According to the insight from Heather Darby, field applications scientist at Luminex, cytokines have evolved into widely recognized biomarkers for a diverse range of disease stages and metabolic changes. Detection and analysis of cytokines are the initial logical approach to learn deeper insights about the biological mechanisms that underlie the phenomena.

Types of Cytokines

Cytokines exhibit a multitude of functions, extensive redundancy, and pleiotropy, making traditional nomenclature less informative for understanding the specific effects of individual cytokines. Despite this, the background of these names can provide some insight into the primary functions of cytokines.

1. Lymphokines:

• Signaling molecules produced by lymphocytes.

2. Monokines:

• Signaling molecules produced by monocytes.

3. Chemokines:

• Play a crucial role in mediating chemotaxis by attracting and recruiting other cells to their origin.

4. Interleukins:

• Originally described cytokines involved in the interactions of leukocytes.

• Widely used to name newly discovered cytokines, often without full knowledge of their functions, leading to a disconnect between nomenclature and function.

• A significant majority are produced by T-helper cells.

5. Interferons:

• Produced by host cells in response to viral infections.

• Serve to mediate viral interference.

6. Colony Stimulating Factors:

• Promote the growth of cells in semisolid media, leading to the formation of cell colonies.

Classification & Functions

Cytokines are often categorized based on phylogeny, genetic relationships, or structural homogeneity.

1. Pro-inflammatory cytokines:

• Examples: Interleukin (IL)-1α/β, Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) α/β, and Interferon (IFN)-γ.

• Function: Regulate active immune responses and drive inflammatory reactions.

2. Anti-inflammatory cytokines:

• Examples: Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-β and IL-10.

• Function: Mitigate immune responses.

3. Subclassification of inflammatory regulators:

• Cytokines regulating cellular immune responses: TNFα, INF-γ.

• Cytokines influencing humoral immune responses: TGF-β, IL-4, IL-10.

4. Chemokines:

• Function: Oversee the chemoattraction of leukocytes.

5. Growth factors:

• Function: Stimulate cell proliferation and differentiation.

6. Death receptor ligands:

• Examples: TNF-α, FasL, TRAIL.

• Function: Bind to death-domain receptors on target cells, initiating apoptotic cell death.

Cytokine Detection and Quantification

The intricate role of cytokines in both health and disease, from bacterial and viral infections to the immune system combating cells, places them at the forefront of research and diagnostic analysis. However, the detection of cytokines has numerous challenges. Their effectiveness and function are directly linked to their levels of extracellular expressions, which further fluctuate based on their spatial location. Additionally, their baseline concentrations are often extremely low, typically within the picomolar range. Finally, cytokines are dissolved in the extracellular fluids, which drastically limits the applicable detection methods.

Detection by ELISA

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the preferred method for cytokine detection and quantification due to its essential attributes, including sensitivity, dynamic range, and compatibility with various biologic fluid samples. ELISA quantifies analytes through immunodetection, which hinges on the precise binding of antibodies to specific molecular targets. ELISA is uniquely suited for analyzing a wide range of fluid biologic samples, encompassing blood serum, plasma, lymph, and more specialized fluids like synovial or cerebrospinal fluids, in addition to cell culture supernatants and cell and tissue lysates. Moreover, ELISA can achieve remarkable sensitivity in the low picomolar range.

With the small size of cytokines, the sandwich ELISA method is often the preferred choice. In this approach, one immobilized antibody binds the target cytokine, while a second antibody, conjugated with an enzyme, specifically recognizes the same cytokine to quantify the amount of immobilized analyte in the assay.

BTL Biotechno Labs Pvt. Ltd. is formed with the primary aim of serving the scientific community by offering cutting-edge, reliable, and high-quality research products at an affordable cost, coupled with expert technical assistance. We are dedicated to delivering advanced research tools, products, and services for a wide range of applications, including human health, agriculture, biopharmaceuticals, animal health, forensics, environmental studies, energy, and more, catering to researchers and innovation-driven organizations.

Understanding the broad applications of Cytokines & Chemokines in immune-system and in drug discovery, BTL Biotechno Labs Pvt. Ltd., as an authorized distributor of Assay Genie, proudly offers their high-quality ELISA kits to the Indian scientific community to support and advance their research.

As a reliable distributor for Assay Genie in India, we provide an extensive range of ELISA kits designed for the detection of over 200 cytokines, which serve as biomarkers for diseases like diabetes, infectious diseases, cancer, small molecules, and more. ELISA remains the gold standard in immunoassays for rapid, simple, and accurate detection and quantification of research targets.

Furthermore, BTL Biotechno Labs Pvt. Ltd. offers customization services at competitive rates, ensuring that researchers have access to tailored solutions. Our comprehensive range of ELISA kits is designed to empower scientists, enabling them to delve deeper into their research and unlock new insights.

For more details, please follow the link below: 

https://www.biotechnolabs.com/