ADCC Reporter Bioassay

Fc receptor-mediated antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) is an important mechanism of action by which antibodies target diseased cells for elimination. The human FcyRIIIa gene displays a polymorphism in the position coding for amino acid residue 158. This translates to a higher affinity FcyRIIIa variant having a valine at amino acid 158 (V158) and a lower affinity FcyRIIIa variant carrying phenylalanine F158. Classic methods used to measure ADCC use primary donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or purified natural killer (NK) cells that express Fc receptors on their cell surface. Killing of target cells is an endpoint of this pathway activation and is used in classic ADCC bioassays, which rely on donor PBMCs or the natural killer cell subpopulation as effector cells isolated from blood donors. The ADCC Reporter Bioassays overcome many of the limitations of traditional methods by eliminating the requirement for primary cell culture.