Comparison of multiplex platforms for determining cytokine concentrations in children with autoimmune hepatitis

Abstract

Cytokines (CK) are key factors in the development of chronic inflammation, as well as fibrotic processes in autoimmune diseases. The initial level of pro-inflammatory CK is known to affect the efficiency of biological therapy. Moreover, the CK amounts are changed at different stages of liver fibrosis. In this regard, it is necessary to have informative and highly accurate diagnostic test systems that allow assessing the level of CK. The purpose of this study was to compare multiplex platforms from a foreign manufacturer (MagPix, Luminex, USA) and a domestic one (QuattroPlex Lab, Aivok, Russia) when determining the concentrations of 14 CK in children with autoimmune hepatitis (AH). We have observed 80 patients with AH aged from 4 to 18 years. The concentrations of 14 CK in blood serum (IL-10, IL-17A, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-27, IL-9, IFNα, IL-1α, IL-15, IL-1RA, IL-31, IL-7, TNFβ) were measured by means of a commercial test system (Procarta 14Plex, Invitrogen, USA). The CK levels were determined using MagPix (Luminex, USA) and QuattroPlex Lab (Aivok, Russia) platforms. The data obtained was processed with Statistica 16.0 software (StatSoft, USA). The relationships between the indices obtained at different platforms were determined by the Spearman correlation quotient. High determination quotients ( 80%) were revealed when obtaining standard curves and when comparing the convergence of the data when studying CK on the MagPix and QuattroPlex Lab platforms. A higher sensitivity of the QuattroPlex Lab platform has been established when measuring low CK levels. A discordance between the data at high CK levels and higher values on the QuattroPlex Lab analyzer was revealed. The measurement of CK panels on the platform of a foreign manufacturer (Luminex, USA) and a domestic manufacturer (Aivok, Russia) showed high convergence of the results. The revealed discrepancies at low and high CK concentrations require further research and standardization of test systems and platforms, aiming for implementation of multiplex CK analysis into clinical practice.