Patent ID: 8546331

Claim:
A method comprising the steps of: (a) determining that a human subject with a disease or pathologic disorder has high levels of CD14+/CD16+ monocytes that contribute to the disease or pathologic disorder by removing a first sample of peripheral blood from the subject and performing flow cytometry on cells comprised within the first sample to assess the number or percent of CD14+/CD16+ monocytes in the first sample; (b) administering an agent that modulates the function or expression of interleukin-lalpha to the human subject; and (c) determining whether such administration modulates the amount of CD14+CD16+ monocytes in the subject by removing a second sample of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from the subject and performing flow cytometry on cells comprised within the second sample to assess the number or percent of CD14+/CD16+ monocytes in the second sample.