Diagnostic criteria of lymphoproliferative diseases from the peripheral blood samples using a cell biochip

Abstract

Background: At present, the diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders is based on the combination of blood or bone marrow smear morphology and immunophenotyping by flow cytometry. Immunophenotypic testing by flow cytometry technique is available only in big medical centers, which is not always convenient for a  patient. Therefore, development of an available method for preliminary diagnosis of lymphoproliferative diseases not requiring special equipment seems relevant.Materials and methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 17  patients admitted to the hospital with suspicion of a  lymphoproliferative disorder, and 17  healthy donors were studied on a cell biochip for determination of proportions of cells positive for various surface CD antigens. The diagnosis was verified by flow cytometry.Results: Compared to healthy controls and patients with T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders (TCLPD), the patients with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders (BCLPD) had significantly lower proportion of CD7+ cells (medians, 7% and 73% respectively, p=2×10-6 for comparison with healthy controls; median  7% and 93% for comparison with TCLPD, p=0.032). In addition, the patients with BCLPD had higher proportion of peripheral СD19+ mononuclear cells, compared to that in the patients with TCLPD and healthy donors (medians 84% and 13% for comparison between BCLPD and healthy control, p=2×10-5; 84% and 3% for comparison of BCLPD and TCLPD, p=0.033). The patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia had significantly higher CD5+ cells in the cell biochip compared to the patients with other BCLPD (medians 72% and 9%, p=0.024). The patients with TCLPD had significantly lower proportion of CD19+ cells than the healthy controls (medians, 3% and 13%, respectively, р=0.042).Conclusion: The study has demonstrated the potential to use the previously developed cell biochip for diagnosis of lymphoproliferative diseases. The biochip makes it possible to sort out white blood cells according to their surface differentiation antigen for their further morphological analysis. The cell biochip allows for the differential diagnosis between BCLPD and TCLPD and determination the lymphocyte clones based on the expression of immunoglobulin light chains.