The invention is in the field of molecular diagnostics. More in particular it provides marker genes for determining the immunotoxicity of compounds. A method according to the invention employs samples obtained from a cell exposed to a potentially immunotoxic compound and determines expression levels of a number of marker genes in order to distinguish between immunotoxic compounds and non-immunotoxic compounds. More in particular, the invention relates to an in vitro method for determining whether a compound is immunotoxic wherein the expression level of at least one marker gene is determined in a sample obtained from a nucleated cell exposed to the compound, wherein the at least one marker gene is selected from the group consisting of ABCA1, CHAC1, CRIM1 and HMGCS1, and wherein it is concluded that the compound is immunotoxic if the expression level of said at least one marker gene is below or above a predetermined reference value.
本发明属于分子诊断领域。尤其是它提供了用于确定化合物免疫毒性的标记
基因。根据本发明的一种方法,利用从暴露于潜在免疫毒性化合物的细胞中获得的样本,确定一些标记
基因的表达
水平,以区分免疫毒性化合物和非免疫毒性化合物。更具体地说,本发明涉及一种确定化合物是否具有免疫毒性的体外方法,该方法测定从暴露于该化合物的有核细胞中获得的样品中至少一种标记
基因的表达
水平,其中至少一种标记
基因选自 ABCA1、CHAC1、CRIM1 和
HMGCS1 所组成的组,如果所述至少一种标记
基因的表达
水平低于或高于预定参考值,则判定该化合物具有免疫毒性。