Systems-level immunomonitoring using self-sampled capillary blood

Abstract

Comprehensive profiling of the human immune system in patients with cancer, autoimmune disease and during infections are providing valuable information that help us understand disease states and discriminate productive from inefficient immune responses and identify possible targets for immune modulation. Recent technical advances now allow for all immune cell populations and hundreds of plasma proteins to be detected using small volume blood samples. To democratize such systems-immunological analyses, further simplified blood sampling and preservation will be important. Here we describe that blood obtained via a nearly painless self-sampling device of 100 microliter of capillary blood that is preserved and frozen, can simplify systems-level immunomonitoring studies.