Dye uptake assay: an efficient and sensitive method for human interferon titration.

  • 1 October 1971
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 22  (4) , 671-7
Abstract
Currently, human interferon (IF) assays are generally performed by plaque reduction or visual cytopathic effect methods. Both are time-consuming, subjective in interpretation, and, in the case of the latter, relatively insensitive. An adaption of the dye uptake method for human IF titration which uses foreskin-derived fibroblasts and vesicular stomatitis virus is described. This assay is reproducible and sensitive (1 unit = 3 international units). By direct comparison, however, it is somewhat less sensitive than the plaque reduction assay (1 unit = 1.1 international units). This assay is especially recommended for use in needed clinical investigations of human IF because of its technical simplicity, allowing efficient handling of large numbers of specimens.