CIMNA core facility

About us

The Center of Immuno Monitoring Nantes Atlantic (CIMNA), a CHU Nantes platform of the Clinical Immunology Laboratory, offers services in the field of clinical immunomonitoring.

The platform offers conventional or innovative tests, controlled and validated, for monitoring the immune response of patients included in therapeutic trials or physiopathological studies. Services also include consulting activities in immunomonitoring intended for clinical and therapeutic research for academic or private investigators (autoimmunity, cancer, infection, transplantation, allergology, etc.).

CIMNA can also provide you with its expertise in technology transfer, technique development and method validation in an ISO15189 environment.

Equipments

CIMNA has automated systems for conventional flow cytometry, analyte dosing and ex-vivo analyses:

2 flow cytometers: CytoFLEX 13 colors (Beckman Coulter)
1 Luminex xMAP® instrument: 50 analytes (MAGPIX)
1 microfluidic platform ELLA (Protein Simple)
1 ELISPOT reader: Bioreader 5000Pro (Bio-Sys)
1 ELISA reader: ELx800 (Biotek)
1 culture room
Storage rooms: LN2, -20°C, -80°C

Services

CIMNA offers validated analyses for immunomonitoring on different types of samples (fresh blood, frozen blood, serum, plasma, PBMC, etc.). With its expertise, CIMNA can also develop new techniques and thus meet the specific needs of your projects.

Flow Cytometry

Flow cytometry allows to individually analyze cells in suspension after staining with specific antibodies directed against membrane and intracellular markers coupled to fluorochromes whose signals are then detected and measured by the lasers of a flow cytometer.

Applications :

Cellular profiling and identification of subpopulations (frequencies and absolute values, existing validated panels)
- Lymphocytes: T, naive/memory, regulatory T, B, NK, NKT, MAIT/activated T, TCRgd, Dendritic cells, monocytes…
- Myeloid suppressor cells: MDSC
- Monocytes: classic, non-classic, intermediate
- Dendritic cells: cDC, pDC
- Granulocytes: neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils
- Innate lymphoïd cells: ILC
- Class and sub-classes of membrane immunoglobulins (IgA1, IgA2, IgD, IgM, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4)
- HLA-DR on monocytes
Analysis of cellular function (ICS)
- Phagocytosis test
- Production of cytokines by T lymphocytes after stimulation
- Production of cytokines by dendritic cells after stimulation
- Production of cytokines by monocytes after stimulation
Receptor occupancy measurement (receptor occupancy/RO)
Analysis of antigen specific T lymphocytes using tetramers
Development of new custom panels upon request (up to 13 simultaneous markers)

Quantification of soluble molecules by multiplex analyses

CIMNA offers two techniques to meet multiplex analysis demands.

The Luminex technique which allows the simultaneous measurement of numerous protein or nucleic targets (≤ 50 cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, etc.). Using magnetic beads, this process, based on xMAP® technology, is based on the principle of an ELISA combined with cytometry.

The ELLA system is an automated immunoassay platform (SimplePlexTM) with a rapid and highly sensitive detection system for proteins in different types of biological samples. This is a microfluidic cartridge system allowing the determination of up to 8 analytes simultaneously in the same sample.

Applications:

Multiplex assay of analytes on serum, plasma, culture supernatants
- Dosage of cytokines, chemokines
- Dosage of immunoglobulins
- Dosage of analytes in the context of metabolism, cardiovascular, transplantation, cancer, neuroscience, bone, etc

ELISA

ELISA (Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay) is mainly used to detect and/or quantify an antigen or an antibody using a colorimetric enzymatic reaction.

Applications :

Dosage of analytes in simplex on serum, plasma, culture supernatants, etc.
- Dosage of cytokines, chemokines
- Dosage of drugs and anti-drug antibodies (Infliximab, Vedolizumab, etc.)
Dosage of analytes in the context of metabolism, cardiovascular, transplantation, cancer, neuroscience, bone, etc.

Simple preparation and storage

Isolation of PBMC by density gradient centrifugation and freezing
Preparation and storage of serum and plasma
Freezing of whole blood for cytometry analysis (method developed by the platform, see Braudeau et al., Cytometry Part B, 2021)
Isolation of cells by magnetic selection

Ex-vivo tests and functional analyses

Stimulation of cells for functional analyzes (ELISpot, flow cytometry, etc.)
Cell proliferation tests
Isolation of cells by magnetic selection for ex-vivo tests

ELISpot

ELISpot is a technique that measures the frequency of cytokine-secreting T lymphocytes or immunoglobulin-secreting B lymphocytes using an immunoenzymatic technique in response to specific or non-specific antigen stimulation.

Applications :

Measurement of antigen-specific T cells after stimulation (viral antigens, vaccine antigens, etc.) by immunoenzymatic techniques

Scientific expertise

The Professor Régis JOSIEN, Dr Jérôme MARTIN and the entire team are at your disposal to provide you with their expertise for your projects in the field of immunology, supporting you from the design of your study to the analysis results.

Quality system

CIMNA is part of the ISO15189-certified Laboratory Medicine department of Nantes University Hospital. Accordingly, the platform has a rigorous quality monitoring policy complies with the quality manual in place in the laboratory.

Partnerships and networks

Local :

CIMNA is a platform of the Bonamy Federative Research Structure which brings together all the research laboratories and technological platforms in the field of biology-health in Nantes.
LabEx IGO: Immunotherapy Graft Oncology Laboratory of Excellence, network of excellence aimed at developing innovative immunotherapies, certified and financed as part of the programmes d’investissement d’avenir (PIA) managed by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)