Human interferon status. Standardization of the tests and establishing reference values

Background. Interferons are the most important component of nonspecific (congenital) resistance of the body, the history of their discovery dates back to 1957 and the study is still ongoing. Evaluation of an individual interferon status (IS) with the estimation of the sensitivity of leukocytes to immune reactive drugs has a practical aspect. IS is a set of parameters indicating the state of nonspecific resistance.
Aim. To study the problems of standardizing the IS tests with the search for possible ways of standardizing the method and calculate reference values based on a large amount of data.
Materials and methods. A retrospective statistical processing was performed using the database of the IS tests performed in the clinical diagnostic department of the laboratory center of Exacte Labs LLC from September 2020 to August 2022. Enzyme immunoassay kits based on commercial reagents were used. The paper describes the methodology for studying IS with an emphasis on the least standardized procedures.
Results. Reference values were calculated using three indirect methods. The analysis of the results obtained made it possible to identify age groups for which it is advisable to establish reference values. The study results showed the inconsistency of the obtained reference values as compared with the previous ones, which indicates the need for their correction.
Conclusion. The considered problems of performing and standardizing the method for IS analysis are of practical importance for establishing a standard methodology and an in vitro method. The reference values have been updated to avoid errors in the interpretation of the results and to increase the clinical significance of the study.