Image-Based, Label-Free Methods to Detect and Quantify General and Directed T Cell Activation

T cell activation is an essential initial step of a targeted immune response in vivo. Activation of T cells in vitro causes increased cell proliferation and formation of cell aggregates, which were tracked using label-free imaging and analysis. T cell general activation rates in the presence of antibodies and an engineered cytokine IL-2 were compared to directed activation where T cells were also exposed to target cell spheroids.