Immunophenotyping
Immunophenotyping for leukemia involves the characterization and quantification of benign and malignant cell populations in peripheral blood or bone marrow aspirate, as well as the determination of minimal/measurable residual disease (MRD).
- Bone marrow
- Peripheral blood
2 hours to 1 day

Test material
Between 5 and 10 ml of peripheral blood or bone marrow aspirate with heparin or EDTA as anticoagulant are needed for immunophenotyping. Peripheral blood is sufficient as a test material, provided that malignant cells have infiltrated peripheral blood. Therefore, bone marrow aspirate should be tested if peripheral blood is not infiltrated.
Methodology
Characterization involves multi-parametric flow cytometry (MFC) of the analyzed cell populations based on their light-scattering properties. This procedure uses fluorescence-marked monoclonal antibodies that are targeted at diagnostically relevant antigens on the cell membrane and in the cytoplasm. Modern flow cytometers enable simultaneous detection of several different fluorochromes and hence allow a precise description of antigen expression patterns for approximately 1,000 cells per second. This means that even cell populations with a frequency of 1% or less can be characterized very quickly.
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