The effect of space travel on the functioning of the immune system appears to be correlated with the incidence of infection. Post-mission findings demonstrated a suppression of some aspects of the immune system. However, these studies for the most part required invasive procedures such as phlebotomy to obtain lymphoid cells. A novel non-invasive method for monitoring immunocompetence monitoring by the salivary concentrations of four cytokines (IL-1a, IL-2 IFNa and IFN??) will be explored. The validation of these measures will be done by HPLC and Western Blot analysis of saliva containing immunoreactive cytokines. In addition, salivary cytokine stability studies will be performed. The biological significance of these measures will be demonstrated by determining if the salivary concentrations of these cytokines change in response to various stressors. The data obtained from these studies will lead to a better understanding of both static and dynamic aspects of the immune system and, in particular, the mucosal immune system, that may change during space missions.A valid non-invasive method for monitoring immune function will be a new tool for patient screening. The commercial potential for the technology exceeds the large critical care market and is appropriate for at-home monitoring of patients and healthy individuals for disease risk.immune system, cytokines, saliva monitoring screening, enzyme immunoassaySTATUS: Phase I Only
