Quantitative PCR for Measurement of Cytokine Expression

Cytokines play a crucial role in innate and adaptive immunity. The onset or progression of immunopathology in various diseases is often associated with aberrant production of one or more cytokines. It is therefore of considerable interest to characterize cytokine “profiles” associated with disease processes. However, the minute amounts of cytokine protein often produced in autocrine or paracrine microenvironments may not be easily detectable, especially when tissue samples or cells are available in only small quantities (1 ).