Human In-Vivo Bioassay for the Tissue-Specific Measurement of Nociceptive and Inflammatory Mediators

This in-vivo human bioassay can be used to study human volunteers and patients. Samples are collected from pertinent tissue sites such as the skin via aseptically inserted microdialysis catheters (Dermal Dialysis, Erlangen, Germany). Illustrated in this example is the collection of interstitial fluid from experimentally inflamed skin in human volunteers. Sample collection can be combined with other experimental tests. For example, the simultaneous assessment of locally released biochemicals and subjective sensitivity to painful stimuli in experimentally inflamed skin provides the critical biochemical-behavioral link to identify biomarkers of pain and inflammation. Presented assay in the living human organism allows for mechanistic insight into tissue-specific processes underlying pain and/or inflammation. The method is also well suited to examine the effectiveness of existing or novel interventions - such as new drug candidates - targeting the treatment of painful and/or inflammatory conditions. This article will provide a detailed description on the use of microdialysis techniques for collecting interstitial fluid from experimentally inflamed skin lesion of human study subjects. Interstitial fluid samples are typically processed with aid of multiplex bead array immunoassays allowing assaying up to 100 analytes in samples as small in volume as 50 microliters.