Claims
- 1. A method of identifying a pathogen comprising the steps of:
a) isolating mRNA from one or more dendritic cells; and b) determining gene expression of at least one stimulus-specific gene, wherein expression of a stimulus-specific gene is indicative of infection by a pathogen to which the stimulus-specific gene is specific.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein stimulus-specific gene expression is increased.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein stimulus-specific gene expression is decreased.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein stimulus-specific gene is not expressed.
- 5. A method of identifying a pathogen comprising the steps of:
a) contacting immature dendritic cells with a pathogen or immunogenic components thereof; b) isolating and labeling mRNA from said dendritic cells; c) detecting labeled mRNA from said dendritic cells such that a gene profile is produced; and d) analyzing the gene profile relative to one or more reference gene profile(s) such that at least one stimulus-specific gene is identified thereby identifying a pathogen for which the stimulus-specific gene is specific.
- 6. A method of diagnosing infection in a mammal comprising the steps of:
b) isolating mRNA from one or more dendritic cells in a mammal; b) contacting said mRNA with at least one stimulus-responsive gene probe wherein hybridization of a stimulus-responsive probe to said mRNA is indicative of infection in said mammal.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the stimulus-responsive probe is stimulus-specific probe.
- 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the stimulus-responsive probe is a common-stimulus-responsive probe.
- 9. A method of diagnosing infection by a pathogen in a mammal comprising the steps of;
a) isolating mRNA from one or more dendritic cells in a mammal; b) determining gene expression of at least one-stimulus-specific gene wherein expression of a stimulus-specific gene is indicative of infection by a pathogen to which the stimulus-specific gene is specific.
- 10. The method of claim 9, wherein stimulus-specific gene expression is increased.
- 11. The method of claim 9, wherein stimulus-specific gene expression is decreased.
- 12. A method for predicting prognosis for an infected individual comprising the steps of:
a) analyzing gene profiles of stimulus-responsive genes, wherein a gene profile is correlated with a clinical prognosis.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the stimulus-responsive genes are stimulus-specific.
- 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the stimulus-responsive genes are common stimulus-responsive genes.
- 15. A method of formulating a therapeutic regimen comprising the steps of:
a) identifying the pathogen; and b) formulating the therapeutic regimen accordingly.
- 16. The method of claim 15, comprising a further step of repeated assessment of patient for a pathogen and formulating a therapeutic regimen.
- 17. A method of optimizing a vaccine comprising the steps of:
a) contacting one or more immature dendritic cells with test vaccines; b) isolating mRNA from said dendritic cells; c) determining gene profiles in said dendritic cells; and d) selecting a test vaccine which elicits a gene profile indicative of an optimized vaccine.
- 18. An ex vivo therapeutic treatment for a pathogen comprising the steps of:
a) contacting a patient's dendritic cells with a pathogen or components thereof such that said dendritic cells become activated; b) returning activated dendritic cells to the patient such that activated dendritic cells trigger an immune response against said pathogen.
- 19. An ex vivo therapeutic treatment for a tumor comprising the steps of:
a) contacting a patient's dendritic cells with tumor cells or components thereof such that said dendritic cells become activated; b) returning activated dendritic cells to the patient such that activated dendritic cells trigger an immune response against said tumor cells or components thereof.
- 20. An ex vivo therapeutic treatment for autoimmunity comprising the steps of:
a) contacting a patient's dendritic cells with self-antigens or components thereof such that said dendritic cells become activated; c) returning activated dendritic cells to the patient such that activated dendritic cells do not trigger an immune response against said self-antigens.
- 21. An ex vivo therapeutic treatment for graft-rejection comprising the steps of:
a) contacting a patient's dendritic cells with graft-tissue or components thereof such that said dendritic cells become activated; b) returning activated dendritic cells to the patient such that activated dendritic cells do not trigger an immune response against graft-tissue.
- 22. A method of measuring the immune response to a stimulus comprising the steps of:
a) contacting one or more dendritic cells with a stimulus; b) isolating mRNA from said dendritic cells; and c) determining a gene profile such that at least one stimulus-responsive gene is identified which is indicative of an immune response.
- 23. A method of measuring the immune response to a stimulus comprising the steps of:
a) contacting dendritic cells with a stimulus; b) isolating and labeling mRNA from said dendritic cells; c) contacting a DNA microarray with labeled mRNA from said dendritic cells; and d) measuring and analyzing the gene profile relative to control stimulus such that at least one stimulus-responsive gene is identified which is indicative of an immune response.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein dendritic cells are obtained from peripheral blood.
- 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the stimulus is selected from the group consisting of bacteria, fungi, viruses, or components thereof.
- 26. The method of claim 23, wherein the stimulus is selected from the group consisting of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aurens, influenza virus, Candida albicans, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), polyI:C, and yeast mannan.
- 27. The method of claim 23, wherein the stimulus is selected from the group consisting of physical, chemical, or electrical.
- 28. The method of claim 23, wherein the stimulus is selected from the group consisting of inorganic chemicals and organic chemicals.
- 29. The method of claim 23, wherein the stimulus comprises a combination selected from the group consisting of: inorganic chemicals and organic chemicals.
- 30. The method of claim 23, wherein the DNA microarray is Affymetrix HU 6800.
- 31. The method of claim 23, wherein the stimulus-responsive gene's expression is increased in response to the stimulus.
- 32. The method of claim 23, wherein the stimulus-responsive gene's expression is decreased in response to the stimulus.
- 33. The method of claim 23, wherein the stimulus-responsive gene is stimulus-specific.
- 34. A method of measuring the gene profile in dendritic cells in response to a stimulus comprising the steps of:
a) contacting immature dendritic cells with a stimulus; b) isolating and labeling mRNA from said dendritic cells; c) contacting a DNA microarray with labeled mRNA from said dendritic cells; and d) measuring and analyzing the gene profile relative to control stimulus such that at least one stimulus-responsive gene is identified.
- 35. The method of claim 34, wherein dendritic cells are obtained from peripheral blood.
- 36. The method of claim 34, wherein the stimulus is selected from the group consisting of bacteria, fungi, viruses, or components thereof.
- 37. The method of claim 34, wherein the stimulus is selected from the group consisting of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aurens, influenza virus, Candida albicans, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), polyI:C, and yeast mannan.
- 38. The method of claim 34, wherein the stimulus is selected from the group consisting of physical, chemical, or electrical.
- 39. The method of claim 34, wherein the stimulus is selected from the group consisting of inorganic chemicals and organic chemicals.
- 40. The method of claim 34, wherein the stimulus comprises a combination selected from the group consisting of: inorganic chemicals and organic chemicals.
- 41. The method of claim 34, wherein the DNA microarray is Affymetrix HU 6800.
- 42. The method of claim 34, wherein the stimulus-responsive gene's expression is increased in response to the stimulus.
- 43. The method of claim 34, wherein the stimulus-responsive gene's expression is decreased in response to the stimulus.
- 44. The method of claim 34, wherein the stimulus-responsive gene is stimulus-specific.
- 45. A method for generating a database of stimulus-responsive genes comprising the steps of:
a) contacting immature dendritic cells with a stimulus; b) isolating and labeling mRNA from said dendritic cells; c) contacting a DNA microarray with labeled mRNA from said dendritic cells; and d) measuring and analyzing the gene profile relative to control stimulus such that a database containing at least one stimulus-responsive gene is generated.
- 46. A method of generating a database of stimulus-specific genes comprising the steps of:
a) contacting immature dendritic cells with a stimulus; b) isolating and labeling mRNA from said dendritic cells; c) contacting a DNA microarray with labeled mRNA from said dendritic cells; and d) measuring and analyzing the gene profile relative to control stimulus such that a database of stimulus-specific genes containing at least one stimulus-specific gene is generated.
- 47. A method of generating a database of common stimulus-responsive genes comprising the steps of:
a) contacting dendritic cells with a stimulus; b) isolating and labeling mRNA from said dendritic cells; c) contacting a DNA microarray with labeled mRNA from said dendritic cells; and d) measuring and analyzing the gene profile relative to control stimulus such that a database of common stimulus-responsive genes containing at least one common stimulus-responsive gene is generated
- 48. A database of stimulus-responsive genes.
- 49. A database of stimulus-specific genes.
- 50. A database of common stimulus-responsive genes.
- 51. A method of identifying a pathogen comprising the steps of:
a) contacting one or more immature dendritic cells with a stimulus; b) isolating mRNA from said dendritic cells; and c) determining a gene profile such that at least one stimulus-specific gene is identified thereby identifying a pathogen for which the stimulus-specific gene is specific.
- 52. A method of identifying a pathogen comprising the steps of:
a) contacting one or more immature dendritic cells with a stimulus; b) isolating and labeling mRNA from said dendritic cells; c) contacting a DNA microarray with labeled mRNA from said dendritic cells; and d) measuring and analyzing the gene profile relative to control stimulus such that at least one stimulus-specific gene is identified thereby identifying a pathogen for which the stimulus-specific gene is specific.
- 53. A method of diagnosing infection by a pathogen comprising the steps of:
a) isolating mRNA from dendritic cells; and b) determining a gene profile such that at least one stimulus-specific gene is identified thereby identifying a pathogen for which the stimulus-specific gene is specific which is indicative of infection.
- 54. A method of diagnosing infection by a pathogen comprising the steps of:
a) isolating and labeling mRNA from dendritic cells; b) contacting a DNA microarray with labeled mRNA from said dendritic cells; and c) measuring and analyzing the gene profile relative to control stimulus such that at least one stimulus-specific gene is identified thereby identifying a pathogen for which the stimulus-specific gene is specific which is indicative of infection.
- 55. A method of diagnosing infection in a mammal comprising the steps of:
a) isolating proteins from one or more dendritic cells from said mammal; b) contacting said proteins with at least one stimulus-specific antibody; wherein binding of a stimulus-specific antibody to said proteins are indicative of infection in said mammal.
- 56. A gene profile comprising E. coli-specific genes.
- 57. A gene profile comprising Candida albican-specific genes.
- 58. A gene profile comprising influenza virus-specific genes.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/242,800, filed Oct. 24, 2000, the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60242800 |
Oct 2000 |
US |