By Afshin Safavi, Ph.D. and Linda A. Robbie, Ph.D.

Since late 2019, a viral pneumonia (SARS-CoV-2) which causes the disease COVID-19 has swept around the world rapidly. The number of people infected during the pandemic is vast, and numerous patients have died. Data is emerging to suggest that there are mild and severe incidents of the cytokine storm (Cytokine Release Syndrome, or CRS) in patients with severe cases of COVID-19, and that this CRS may represent a significant cause of death. Cytokine monitoring is important in the management of patients, especially those that develop severe symptoms of the disease. The hallmark of CRS is activation of the patients’ immune system which results in an elevation of inflammatory cytokines in the circulation. High levels of these cytokines and chemokines, such as GM-CSF, Granzyme B, IFN-γ, MIP-1α, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, IL-22, and IL-17A, have been detected in patients following CAR T-cell infusion, and are therefore monitored.

BioAgilytix: COVID-19 Research and Development Partners

At BioAgilytix, we have validated three 10-plex cytokine/chemokine panels from Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) in order to quantify these biomarkers in patients receiving novel therapeutics for the treatment of a range of disease indications, including for patient monitoring throughout CAR-T cell therapy. BioAgilytix can also apply this cytokine/chemokine testing capability to the new range of vaccines and therapeutics being developed for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The three tables below provide a list of the cytokines and chemokines that have undergone full bioanalytical validation at BioAgilytix. These panels are utilized in support of a broad range of clinical trials today.

Cytokine Panel I

Pro-Inflammatory Panel I

Chemokine Panel I
  • GM-CSF
  • IL-1ɑ
  • IL-5
  • IL-7
  • IL-12/23 p40
  • IL-15
  • IL-16
  • IL-17A
  • TNF-β
  • VEGF
  • INF-y
  • IL-1β
  • IL-2
  • IL-4
  • IL-6
  • IL-8
  • IL-10
  • IL-12 p70
  • IL-13
  • TNF-a
  • Eotaxin
  • MIP-1β
  • Eotaxin-3
  • TARC
  • IP-10
  • MIP-1ɑ
  • IL-8 (High Abundance)
  • MCP-1
  • MDC
  • MCP-4

Contact BioAgilytix for COVID-19 Study Bioanalytical Support

If you are working on a COVID-19 therapeutics treatment program, and/or other therapies and disease indications where CRS may be of concern, and for which you need accurate measurement of a panel of cytokines and/or chemokines, please contact our scientific team today and we will be happy to discuss your study-specific needs.