An overview of ELISA: a review and update on best laboratory practices for quantifying peptides and proteins in biological fluids

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detects antigen-antibody interactions by using enzyme-labelled conjugates and enzyme substrates that generate colour changes. This review aims to provide an overview of ELISA, its various types, and its applications in detecting metabolites in biological fluids. The article discusses the history of the assay, its underlying principles and procedures, common ELISA protocols, and the most accurate and reliable techniques for measuring peptide molecules in biological fluids. Additionally, we emphasize best laboratory practices to achieve consistent, high-quality results and outline the essential materials for setting up an ELISA laboratory, drawing from our over 30 years of experience in the field.

The effects of fever on hormone ghrelins, immunoglobulins, and heat shock protein 70 expression after swine flu vaccinations

For analyzing the changes in immunoglobulins, HSP70, ghrelin levels in blood samples were collected from volunteers vaccinated against swine flu before the vaccinations and on days 3, and 15, and 1 and 2 months after the vaccination in the presence or absence of fever associated with the it. The study included 11 subjects having developed a fever, and 13 subjects not having a fever, and 20 control subjects. Immunoglobulins were measured by nephelometry, and HSP70 and ghrelins by appropriate ELISA tests. The level of ghrelin was reduced, while the level of HSP70 was significantly increased in subjects who developed fevers. When temperatures were normalized, both levels were found similar to the control group. These results indicate that the increase in serum immunoglobulins levels associated with vaccinations, along with, elevations in HSP70 and reduced ghrelin levels associated with fever, may be the important parameters in the clinical evaluation and follow-up of treatments with vaccines.

Can the combined administration of labelled fluoro-2 deoxy d glucose and insulin or chrome increase the diagnostic sensitivity of Positron Emission Tomography (PET)?

In this letter to editor I hypothesize that administering insulin or chrome along with fluoro-2 deoxy d-glucose (FDG) to enhance its uptake in malignant lesions that are known to have low levels of tumor glycolysis, and therefore, improve the sensitivity of PET imaging in this setting. The logic behind this idea stems from the known fact that there is substantial increase in uptake of d-glucose following administration of insülin/chrome in many tissues, and as such, the same pattern would apply to FDG.