Standardization of immunophenotyping requires careful attention to reagents, sample handling, instrument setup, and data analysis, and is essential for successful cross-study and cross-center comparison of data. Experts developed five standardized, eight-color panels for identification of major immune cell subsets in peripheral blood. These were produced as pre-configured, lyophilized, reagents in 96-well plates. We present the results of a coordinated analysis of samples across nine laboratories using these panels with standardized operating procedures (SOPs). Manual gating was performed by each site and by a central site. Automated gating algorithms were developed and tested by the FlowCAP consortium. Centralized manual gating can reduce cross-center variability, and we sought to determine whether automated methods could streamline and standardize the analysis. Within-site variability was low in all experiments, but cross-site variability was lower when central analysis was performed in comparison with site-specific analysis. It was also lower for clearly defined cell subsets than those based on dim markers and for rare populations. Automated gating was able to match the performance of central manual analysis for all tested panels, exhibiting little to no bias and comparable variability. Standardized staining, data collection, and automated gating can increase power, reduce variability, and streamline analysis for immunophenotyping.

In the above article, we did not include a GEO accession number for the gene expression data from our study. The expression data can be accessed under the accession number GSE47353 at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/. In addition, all data used in our analyses can be obtained at http://chi.nhlbi.nih.gov.

Storing platelets in an additive solution containing magnesium and potassium improves the functionality of the platelets, as measured by in vitro testing, and may allow a reduction of the amount of plasma required to be carried over to the final unit.

Introduction Cytokines are humoral regulatory molecules that act together in immunologic pathways. Monitoring cytokines and their variations within physiologic ranges is critical for biomarker discovery. Therefore, we evaluated the performance characteristics of 72 analytes measured by multiplex cytokine immunoassay, with an emphasis on the differences of analytes measured in serum compared to plasma, and, in plasma, on the impact of anticoagulants on the cytokine measurement. Methods We used fluorescent bead-based (Luminex) immunoassay kits to simultaneously measure 72 analytes. We tested serum and plasma samples from 11 matched donors. Plasma samples were anti-coagulated with sodium heparin, sodium citrate dextrose and ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA), respectively. Results Of the 72 cytokines, 12 were undetectable in all types of specimen samples. Nineteen analytes, including PDGF-bb, IL-4, IL-8, IL-9, FGF-b, PAI-1, CXCL-5, CCL-5, CD40L, EGF, VEGF, IL-2ra, IL-3, SDF-1a, PCT, MCP-3, GIP, IL-16 and fibrinogen, showed significant differences between measurements in serum and all types of plasma, regardless of anticoagulant. Among plasma samples, 10 analytes (eotaxin, SCGF-b, MCP-1, SCF, MIP-1b, VEGF, RANTES, PDGF-b, PAI-1 and ITAC) showed significantly higher concentrations in heparinized plasma compared to citrated and EDTA plasma. IP-10, and CTAK were the only 2 cytokines that presented different concentrations in citrate and EDTA plasma. Conclusions With their small volume, low cost per test, and multiplex capacity, Luminex-based cytokine assays have enormous potential utility for screening in epidemiologic studies. In our study, we showed that many cytokines’ concentrations differed between serum and plasma samples, and that different anticoagulants used in preparation of plasma samples also affected the measurement of some cytokines. There was no optimal sample preparation that was clearly superior for the measurement of all analytes measured. Ultimately, the utility of cytokine measurement, as biomarker or to monitor the immune system, will depend on attention to detail in the collection and processing of samples in addition to assay precision.

BackgroundCytokines are humoral molecules that elicit regulatory function in immunologic pathways. The level and type of cytokine production has become critical in distinguishing physiologic from pathologic immune conditions. Cytokine profiling has become an important biomarker discovery tool in monitoring of the immune system. However, the variations in cytokine levels in individual subjects over time in healthy individuals have not been extensively studied. In this study, we use multiplex bead arrays to evaluate 27 analytes in paired serum samples taken seven days apart from 144 healthy individuals in order to assess variations over a short time period.MethodsFluorescent bead-based immunoassay (Luminex) was used to measure 27 analytes in serum samples. Measurements were performed on matched samples from 144 healthy donors. To assess inter-plate variability, one arbitrarily selected serum sample was analyzed on each of the first ten plates as bridge sample. ResultsUsing the bridge sample, we showed minimal inter-plate variations in the measurement of most analytes. In measurement of cytokines from the 144 patients at two time points, we found that three cytokines (IL-2, IL-15 and GM-CSF) were undetectable and five analytes (RANTES, MCP-1, VEGF, MIP-1β and PDGF-BB) showed significant difference in concentrations at Day 0 compared to Day 7. ConclusionsThe current study demonstrated higher variations in cytokine levels among individuals than were observed for samples obtained one week apart from identical donors. These data suggest that a serum sample from each subject for use as a baseline measurement is a better control for clinical trials rather than sera from a paired cohort.