Method of diagnosing infectious disease by measuring the level of soluble TREM-1 in a sample
The present invention concerns a method of diagnosing disease of bacterial or fungal origin in a subject, which method comprises the step of measuring the level of Strem-1 in a biological sample obtained from said subject.
1. A method of diagnosing disease of bacterial or fungal origin in a subject, wherein said disease is pneumonia or sepsis, which method comprises the steps of
(a) measuring a level of the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor in a biological sample obtained from said subject;
(b) comparing the measured level of the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor in the sample with a mean level in a control population of individuals not having disease of bacterial or fungal origin;
(c) correlating elevated levels of the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor with the presence or extent of said disease of bacterial or fungal origin.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of measuring the level of the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor comprises the steps of:
(a) contacting said biological sample with a compound capable of binding the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor;
(b) detecting the level of the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor present in the sample by observing the level of binding between said compound and the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of measuring the level of the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor in a second or further sample from said subject, the first and second or further samples being obtained at different times; and comparing the levels in the samples to indicate the progression or remission of the disease of bacterial or fungal origin.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sample is selected from the group consisting of whole blood, blood serum, blood, plasma, urine and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sample is from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sample is from blood serum or blood plasma.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sample is a human sample.
8. The method of claim 2 wherein said compound specifically binds the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor.
9. The method of claim 2 wherein said compound capable of binding the soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor is an antibody raised against all or part of the TREM-1 receptor.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the level of soluble form of the human TREM-1 receptor is measured by an immunochemical technique.
11. The method of claim 1 comprising the additional step of measuring the level of TREM-1-Ligand in one or more biological samples obtained from said subject.