This approach, based on human cellular assays, reproduces accurately in the lab the cellular co-operation between APCs and T-Cells for measuring the T-Cells activation after contact with a whole protein or a peptide. By using human cells and reproducing ex vivo the activation mechanisms of the human immune system, this approach is more relevant than other current approaches (e.g. murine or antibody-based assays) for evaluating the potential of immunogenicity of a therapeutic protein.
When the protein induces an immune response, it is possible to determine the part of the protein, and more precisely the epitope, responsible for the immunogenicity of the protein.