Human immune-monitoring core

The human immune-monitoring core facility at Toulouse Institute For Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases (INFINITy, Inserm UMR1291 – CNRS UMR5051 – University of Toulouse) specializes in the conservation and the characterization of human immune cells.

Our team / Contacts
Head: Raphaëlle Romieu-Mourez (PhD, raphaelle.romieu-mourez@inserm.fr)
Manager of the biobanks: Pierre Emmanuel Paulet (pierre-emmanuel.paulet@inserm.fr)
Scientific Director: Roland Liblau (MD PhD, roland.liblau@inserm.fr)

 

Email: imp.infinity@inserm.fr              Phone: +33 5 62 74 86 66
Steering Committee
Claire Cénac (Team J-C. Guéry)
Maïlys Mouysset (Team M. Diaz)
Nathalie Jonca (Team M. Simon)
Emmanuel Treiner (Team A. Saoudi / R. Liblau)
Xavier Iriart (Team N. Blanchard)
Florence Abravanel (Team J. Izopet / B. Lagane)
Romain Torres (Team J. van Meerwijk / O. Joffre)
Sylvie Guerder (Team N. Fazilleau / S. Guerder)
Loïc Dupré (Team R. Lesourne / L. Dupré)
Laurent Guilleminault (Team L. Reber)
Carole Le Coz (Team C. Le Coz)

Expertise

BIOBANKING OF PBMC INCLUDING IN CLINICAL SITUATION AND ON FRAGILE SAMPLES
BIOBANKING OF LYMPHOID TISSUES
QUALITY CONTROLS ASSOCIATED WITH BIOBANKING
ELISPOT
BIOMARKER QUANTIFICATION USING ELECTROCHEMILUMINESCENCE (MESO SCALE DISCOVERY TECHNOLOGY)
PHENOTYPIC AND FUNCTIONAL IMMUNOMONITORING ON CLINICAL COHORTS
HUMAN RESEARCH INFORMATION AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

Research support

For academic or private research teams, we offer:

  • Training, including supervised independent access: your team conducts experiments directly in our laboratory, with access to our equipment and expertise. Training can cover human immune cell biobanking, ELISPOT, biomarker quantification using Meso Scale Discovery technology, or any other technique developed on the platform.

  • Services for occasional analyses, tailored to the needs of your research projects.

  • Comprehensive services, covering assay development, immunomonitoring, and regulatory support for human research projects led by research teams.

Our collections of PBMC and lymphoid tissues from healthy subjects are exclusively available to Infinity research teams.

Requests can be submitted by email at imp.infinity@inserm.fr

Activity

Human immune cell biobanking

The collections generated by the platform are dedicated to the research teams of Infinity. Biobanking of immune cells from primary samples obtained by research teams is available in training and supervised self-service, provided that the ethical and legal framework for the research involving these samples has been addressed.

Our in-house collections

PBMC and plasma from healthy subjects

PBMC cryopreservation

  • PBMC are isolated from controlled blood donations provided by the Établissement Français du Sang (EFS) in Occitanie. Each donation is screened for the absence of transmissible infections (hepatitis, HIV, HTLV, syphilis).
  • Our biobank has included more than 350 donors since 2015, with 60 to 100 new donors added each year. We provide frozen vials containing at least 15 million PBMCs, as well as plasma for serological analyses. An analysis conducted in 2024 on frozen PBMC from 56 donors showed a median viability of 86.7% (76.8%–95.5%) after 20 ± 4 hours of thawing. We annually verify that this viability is maintained by testing approximately ten randomly selected vials.
  • Between 500 and 2000 vials are used each year by Infinity’s teams for research in immunity, inflammation, and infectious diseases.

Healthy subject lymphoid tissues

  • Scientific collaborations between our institution and the Toulouse University Hospital and the Rive Gauche clinic are focused on the study of pediatric healthy lymphoid tissues, which functions and cellular composition differ from peripheral blood. The tissues analyzed are surgical wastes from pediatric tonsils and thymus obtained with the agreement of families informed of the research.
ELISPOT

 

ELISPOT assay on PBMC from a patient hospitalized at the Hospital of Toulouse

This service is available in training, supervised self-service, or, depending on sample volume, partial or full processing by the platform

ELISPOT is routinely used on our platform as part of fundamental and clinical studies, particularly in collaboration with Toulouse University Hospital. We use an ELISPOT S6 Ultra-V analyzer from Cellular Technology Ltd., which:

  • Enables the reading of single- or dual-color ELISPOT assays. The substrates are typically BCIP/NBT (blue) and/or AEC (red), with spot-forming cells appearing blue, red, or dark purple depending on single or dual staining.
  • Enables the reading of single- or dual-color FluoroSpot assays. The filters are FITC (green) and/or PE (red), with spot-forming cells appearing green, red, or yellow depending on single or dual staining.
Biomarker quantification using electrochemiluminescence (Meso Scale Discovery)

Quick Plex SQ120

Multiplex quantification

This service is available in training, supervised self-service, or, depending on sample volume, partial or full processing by the platform.

The Quick Plex SQ120 reader and MSD technology enable the quantification of a wide range of human and animal biomarkers (primates, rodents, dogs). The Meso Scale Discovery website lists the hundreds of possible quantifications and multiplex assays compatible with the Quick Plex SQ120. The principle is similar to ELISA, but replaces colorimetric detection with electrochemiluminescence, which eliminates interference between the electrical excitation signal and light emission. This results in:

  • Exceptionally low detection limits (typically picogram/mL to femtogram/mL),
  • Excellent linearity (5-log dynamic range),
  • Multiplexing capabilities (e.g., U-PLEX up to 10-plex).
  • Existing ELISA tests can also be adapted to electrochemiluminescence assays.
  • Analyses can be performed on various biological substrates, including plasma, serum, cell supernatants, tissue homogenates, and cerebrospinal fluid. Assays are conducted on full or partial 96-well plates, requiring less than 25 µL of undiluted or diluted sample per test.
Immunomonitoring

This full service is available upon request and validation by our steering committee. 

We perform phenotypic and functional immunomonitoring, including longitudinal analysis, on fresh or cryopreserved samples. Blood samples from asthmatic children, patients with an infection with the hepatitis E virus, patients hospitalized following an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and patients with narcolepsy were thus studied by the plateau.

Studies are typically carried out in 3 phases:

  • 1st phase: development and validation of protocols, often based on biobanks of healthy subjects
  • 2nd phase: routine implementation of protocols on targeted clinical cohort
  • 3rd phase: where possible, we automate data acquisition and processing using R or Python scripts. For example, we can automatically process text files generated from ELISPOT analyses to obtain normalized spot-forming cell (SFC) values in an Excel file

The duration of these analyzes is inherently variable, ranging from a few weeks to several months with, if necessary, the transmission of protocols and know-how procedures to the requesting teams.

Assay development and transfer

This full service is available upon request and validation by our steering committee. Previous assay development projects are available as training activities.

Previous assay development projects

  • Analysis of intra- and inter-experimental variability (operators, timing)
  • Quality control of fragile PBMC biobanks, including samples transported from other regions of France or from patients with conditions that may affect blood cells
  • Isolation of PBMC from small-volume blood samples for pediatric studies
  • Evaluation of PBMC isolation kits compared with conventional Ficoll-based methods
  • Comparison of automated cell-counting methods for fresh and cryopreserved PBMC
  • Standardization of ELISPOT assays
  • Comparison of ex vivo ELISPOT responses in fresh versus cryopreserved PBMC
  • Development of multiparametric cytometry panels in collaboration with the Infinity Cytometry Platform
Human research information and regulatory affairs

Upon request and following approval by our steering committee, we support research teams with their administrative procedures to facilitate patient information and ensure compliance with the ethical and legal framework governing research involving human subjects. For projects sponsored by Inserm, we also liaise with regulatory affairs specialists from the CHU and Inserm regulatory departments.

Examples of procedures

  • Preparation of information sheets and informed consent forms for adult and minor participants
  • Declaration of prospective human research or human biological sample collections to the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) and the Committee for the Protection of Persons (CPP)
  • Implementation of the ethical, contractual and administrative framework for research involving surgical wastes from the CHU
Some publications as authorship, contributorship or describing the platform

Human immune-monitoring and ELISPOT in our core facility

  • Monitoring HLA-A2-restricted T cell responses and BCLA-specific serostatus during human latent Toxoplasma gondii infection suggests the implication of CD8+ T cells in parasite containment. Romieu-Mourez R, Paulet PE, Bassot E, Palak A, Carvaillo T, Dépéry L, Robert MG, Iriart X, Fillaux J, Berry A, Hakimi MA, Blanchard N. J Infect Dis. 2026 Jul 1:jiag333
  • Viral clearance and escape during therapy of COVID-19 outpatients: A prospective cohort study. Martin-Blondel G, Burgat P, Leducq V, Porrot F, Cottignies-Calamarte A, De Cruz A, Dorival C, Romieu-Mourez R, Chaubet C, Cazaentre V, Boumaza X, Richier Q, Gaborit B, Coustilleres F, Dubée V, Ader F, Yordanov Y, Schwartz O, Marcelin AG, Lusivika-Nzinga C, Carrat F, Soulié C, Liblau R, Bruel T; ANRS 0003S CoCoPrev Study Group. iScience. 2025 Nov 26;28(12):114226
  • Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses of Solid Organ Transplant Patients on Belatacept to Three Doses of mRNA-Based Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine. Abravanel F, Marion O, Del Bello A, Beunon T, Romieu-Mourez R, Couat C, Pucelle M, Staes L, Guitard J, Esposito L, Faguer S, Kamar N, Izopet J. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Feb 24;10(3):354
  • Assessment of 4 Doses of SARS-CoV-2 Messenger RNA-Based Vaccine in Recipients of a Solid Organ Transplant. Kamar N, Abravanel F, Marion O, Romieu-Mourez R, Couat C, Del Bello A, Izopet J.JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Nov 1;4(11):e2136030
  • Separation of the CaV 1.2-CaV 1.3 calcium channel duo prevents type 2 allergic airway inflammation. Giang N, Mars M, Moreau M, Mejia JE, Bouchaud G, Magnan A, Michelet M, Ronsin B, Murphy GG, Striessnig J, Guéry JC, Pelletier L, Savignac M. Allergy. 2022 Feb;77(2):525-539
  • Circulating follicular helper T cells exhibit reduced ICOS expression and impaired function in narcolepsy type 1 patients. Nguyen XH, Dauvilliers Y, Quériault C, Perals C, Romieu-Mourez R, Paulet PE, Bernard- Valnet R, Fazilleau N, Liblau R. J Autoimmun. 2018 Nov;94:134-142
  • Conventional and innate lymphocytes response at the acute phase of HEV infection in transplanted patients. Abravanel F, Barragué H, Dörr G, Sauné K, Péron JM, Alric L, Kamar N, Izopet J, Champagne E.J Infect. 2016 Jun;72(6):723-730

Meso Scale Discovery biomarker quantification in our core facility

  • Toxoplasma gondii infection and chronic IL-1 elevation drive hippocampal DNA double-strand break signaling, leading to cognitive deficits. Belloy M, Schmitt BAM, Marty FH, Paut C, Bassot E, Aïda A, Alis M, Zahm M, Chaubet A, Garnier H, Flores-Aguilar T, Roitg E, Gutierrez-Loli R, Allart S, Ecalard R, Boursereau R, Ligat G, Gonzalez-Dunia D, Blanchard N, Suberbielle E. Nat Neurosci. 2025 Oct;28(10):2067-2077.
  • Immune signatures link myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease to other autoantibody-mediated conditions. Schmid J, Alberti C, Power L, Nuñez NG, De Feo D, Tyystjärvi S, Kulsvehagen L, Kreiner V, Ayroza Bleher AB, Lipps P, Swinnen S, Ingelfinger F, Ulutekin C, Chaubet C, Unger S, Kreutmair S, Marignier R, Korn T, Pröbstel AK, Liblau R, Becher B. Sci Transl Med. 2025 Oct 8;17(819)
  • Intact proviruses are enriched in the colon and associated with PD-1+TIGIT- mucosal CD4+ T cells of people with HIV-1 on antiretroviral therapy. Vellas C, Nayrac M, Collercandy N, Requena M, Jeanne N, Latour J, Dimeglio C, Cazabat M, Barange K, Alric L, Carrere N, Martin-Blondel G, Izopet J, Delobel P. EBioMedicine. 2024 Feb;100:104954

Use of our in-house biobanks

  • Sex Bias in IL-10 Production by Type I Regulatory T Cells Regulated by PI3K/mTOR Signaling. Debonlier A, Kari S, Bucciarelli F, Angles T, Perez-Pestel A, Fébrissy C, Laffont S, Liblau R, Lenfant F, Dunn SE, Guillermet-Guibert J, Astier AL. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. 2026 Mar;13(2)
  • In vitro morphological profiling of T cells predicts clinical response to natalizumab therapy in patients with multiple sclerosis. Chaves B, Santos E Silva JC, Nakaya H, Socquet-Juglard N, Bucciarelli F, Prunier G, Almeida MV, Lacouture C, Kari S, Astier AL, Medeiros MA, Silva JHM, Liblau R, Cotta-de-Almeida V, Dupré L. Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 1;16(1):5533
  • Heterochromatic gene silencing controls CD4+ T cell susceptibility to regulatory T cell-mediated suppression in a murine allograft model. Noguerol J, Laviolette K, Zahm M, Chaubet A, Sahal A, Détraves C, Torres R, Demont C, Adoue V, Joffre C, Cammas F, van Meerwijk J, Joffre O. Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 10;16(1):566
  • Increased levels of circulating soluble CD226 in multiple sclerosis. Kari S, Bucciarelli F, Angles T, Oster AC, Cauboue P, Laviolette K, Mougenot M, Morandi E, Bernard I, Pignolet B, Bost C, Thomas J, Nogueira L, Saoudi A, Liblau R, Astier AL. Mult Scler. 2024 Feb 29:13524585241234489
  • Coordinated ARP2/3 and glycolytic activities regulate the morphological and functional fitness of human CD8+ T cells. Kamnev A, Mehta T, Wielscher M, Chaves B, Lacouture C, Mautner AK, Shaw LE, Caldera M, Menche J, Weninger WP, Farlik M, Boztug K, Dupré L. Cell Rep. 2024 Mar 26;43(3):113853
  • Lymphocyte migration and retention properties affected by ibrutinib in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Rey-Barroso J, Munaretto A, Rouquié N, Mougel A, Chassan M, Gadat S, Dewingle O, Poincloux R, Cadot S, Ysebaert L, Quillet-Mary A, Dupré L. Haematologica. 2024 Mar 1;109(3):809-823
  • Eomes-dependent mitochondrial regulation promotes survival of pathogenic CD4+ T cells during inflammation. Joulia E, Michieletto MF, Agesta A, Peillex C, Girault V, Le Dorze AL, Peroceschi R, Bucciarelli F, Szelechowski M, Chaubet A, Hakim N, Marrocco R, Lhuillier E, Lebeurrier M, Argüello RJ, Saoudi A, El Costa H, Adoue V, Walzer T, Sarry JE, Dejean AS. J Exp Med. 2024 Feb 5;221(2):e20230449
  • Increased levels of circulating soluble CD226 in multiple sclerosis. Kari S, Bucciarelli F, Angles T, Oster AC, Cauboue P, Laviolette K, Mougenot M, Morandi E, Bernard I, Pignolet B, Bost C, Thomas J, Nogueira L, Saoudi A, Liblau R, Astier AL. Mult Scler. 2024 Feb 29:13524585241234489
  • Human papilloma virus-16-specific CD8+ T-cell expansions characterize different clinical forms of lichen planus and not lichen sclerosus et atrophicus. Viguier M, Pérals C, Poirier B, Battistella M, Aubin F, Bachelez H, Prétet JL, Gheit T, Tommasino M, Touzé A, Gougeon ML, Fazilleau N.Exp Dermatol. 2023 Mar 15
  • Human papilloma virus-16-specific CD8+ T-cell expansions characterize different clinical forms of lichen planus and not lichen sclerosus et atrophicus. Viguier M, Pérals C, Poirier B, Battistella M, Aubin F, Bachelez H, Prétet JL, Gheit T, Tommasino M, Touzé A, Gougeon ML, Fazilleau N.Exp Dermatol. 2023 Mar 15
  • HIV-1 infection enhances innate function and TLR7 expression in female plasmacytoid dendritic cells. Abbas F, Cenac C, Youness A, Azar P, Delobel P, Guéry JC.Life Sci Alliance. 2022 Sep 2;5(10):e202201452
  • Effector memory CD8 T cell response elicits Hepatitis E Virus genotype 3 pathogenesis in the elderly El Costa H, Gouilly J, Abravanel F, Bahraoui E, Peron J-M, Kamar N, Jabrane-Ferrat N, Izopet J PLoS Pathog. 2021 Feb; 17(2): e1009367
  • Hydroxychloroquine inhibits proteolytic processing of endogenous TLR7 protein in human primary plasmacytoid dendritic cells. Cenac C, Ducatez MF, Guéry JC. Eur J Immunol. 2022 Jan;52(1):54-61
  • TLR7 dosage polymorphism shapes interferogenesis and HIV-1 acute viremia in women. Azar P, Mejía JE, Cenac C, Shaiykova A, Youness A, Laffont S, Essat A, Izopet J, Passaes C, Müller-Trutwin M, Delobel P, Meyer L, Guéry JC. JCI Insight. 2020 Jun 18;5(12):e136047
  • The costimulatory molecule CD226 signals through VAV1 to amplify TCR signals and promote IL-17 production by CD4+ T cells. Gaud G, Roncagalli R, Chaoui K, Bernard I, Familiades J, Colacios C, Kassem S, Monsarrat B, Burlet-Schiltz O, de Peredo AG, Malissen B, Saoudi A. Sci Signal. 2018 Jul 10;11(538):eaar3083
  • TLR7 escapes X chromosome inactivation in immune cells. Souyris M, Cenac C, Azar P, Daviaud D, Canivet A, Grunenwald S, Pienkowski C, Chaumeil J, Mejía JE, Guéry JC Sci Immunol. 2018 Jan 26;3(19)
  • High-Dimensional Single-Cell Analysis Reveals The Immune Signature of Narcolepsy. F.J. Hartmann, R. Bernard-Valnet, C. Quériault, D. Mrdjen, L.M. Weber, E. Galli, C. Krieg, M.D. Robinson, X-H. Nguyen, Y. Dauvilliers, R.S. Liblau* & B. Becher*. J. Exp. Med. 2016 Nov 14;213(12):2621-2633

Contact, requests and booking

– In order to access the in-house biobanks for teams and platforms at Infinity, send us by email one of the request forms available on the intranet, respecting the deadlines and procedures indicated on these forms.

– To use the Quick Plex SQ120, book online https://www.infinity.inserm.fr/reservations/ (section “Appareils”) and indicate if the thermoshaker will be borrowed.

– The other equipments are accessible without booking.

Contact us
+33 5 62 74 86 66

Other information

Billing

TABLE SUMMARY OF INVOICING: IMP INFINITY Grille tarifaire 2026

 

Protocols and technical booklets

Documents are available on request imp.infinity@inserm.fr

PBMC isolation and cryopreservation

PBMC thawing

Fresh and frozen human immune cell counting (BT20 counter, Cellometer auto2000 counter, LUNA-FL counter, cytometry)

ELISPOT technology to numerate effector memory T cells

Booklet “ELISPOT reader”

Booklet “Introduction to Meso Scale Discovery technology and Quick Plex SQ120 reader for the dosage of biomarkers”

Partenaires Immunomonitoring

CNRS

CNRS