Description

About our Donors

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues, most often targeting the lining of the joints (the synovium). This causes inflammation that leads to joint pain, swelling, and stiffness, and over time can damage cartilage and bone and reduce joint function. RA commonly affects the small joints of the hands and feet, and symptoms may vary over time with periods of worsening (flares) and periods of improvement. Because RA is a systemic inflammatory condition, it can also affect areas outside the joints, such as the eyes, lungs, heart, skin, and blood vessels.

Our RA donors are sourced from a world-class blood collection center that has been a pioneer in many screening processes. All donors have been tested for various infectious diseases, including HIV and Hepatitis B/C, as well as normal levels of hemoglobin. Further, donors undergo a screening questionnaire to disclose vital statistics and medication to ensure that specific comorbidities or treatment regimens do not complicate the interpretation of results and that the PBMC samples will reliably serve your research endeavors.

Application Summary for Human RA PBMCs

PBMCs from donors with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are used for advancing autoimmune disease research and therapeutic development. These cells enable studies on immune cell dysregulation, helping to uncover mechanisms driving RA pathogenesis and identify biomarkers for disease activity and treatment response. These cells are also crucial in drug development, allowing researchers to test the efficacy and mechanisms of new immunomodulatory therapies. Additionally, RA PBMCs may support cytokine profiling and functional assays to assess inflammatory responses and immune cell functionality, as well as other non-clinical in vitro assays for evaluating therapeutic safety or efficacy. With applications in genomics, immunophenotyping, and preclinical modeling, RA PBMCs are essential for driving innovation in precision medicine and tailored therapeutic approaches.

Isolation of PBMCs

Peripheral blood is obtained from responsible facilities that have many years of experience collecting samples. Once the blood is received at our lab, PBMCs are isolated by performing density centrifugation with Ficoll, a high molecular weight sucrose solution, to remove red blood cells under sterile conditions. Ficoll with a density of 1.077 g/mL is used, resulting in a defined layer of mononuclear cells that are separated from plasma, platelets, granulocytes, and erythrocytes. Additional quality control measures are taken to isolate and prepare PBMCs that ensure the highest viability for cryopreservation and downstream experimental applications.

Cryopreservation and Storage

Our human RA PBMCs are cryopreserved carefully using iQ Biosciences’ cryopreservation protocol that ensures high viability (> 90%) after thawing.

Cells should be stored at < -120°C once they are received, such as within a liquid nitrogen tank (vapor phase and not submerging the vials in liquid nitrogen).