Evaluation of Pathogenesis and Diagnosis of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Community-acquired Pneumonia (CAP)

The ASC ELISpot will be developed based on the improved methods recently described \[Nat Protoc 2013;8:1073-87\]. This protocol allows rapid (6-8 h) detection of specific ASCs in small volumes (1-2 ml) of blood. M. pneumoniae protein P1 (50 μl/ml) will be used as antigen. The optimal concentration of coating antigen will be assessed in advance in two-fold serial dilutions for clear spot definition. The M. pneumoniae-specific T cell ELISpot will be developed based on methods recently described \[Nat Protoc 2009;4:461-9\].