DETECTION OF ANTI-LEUKOCYTE ANTIBODIES BY A FLOW-CYTOMETRIC IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE METHOD

Abstract

The detection of anti-leukocyte antibodies by a newly developed method with flow-cytometric immunofluorescence is described. The flow-cytometer we used in this study was Ortho Spectrum III (Ortho Diagnostic Systems Inc.), which is a rather simple apparatus and may provide accurate, reproducible information in the detecting procedure. Using this apparatus, lymphocyte allo-antibodies were detected with high sensitivity in the sera of transfused patients. The patients with high titer of lymphocyte allo-antibodies had been showing post-transfusion reactions with fever at every transfusion. The newly developed method was proved to be a rapid, reliable technique, which may be applied in routine screening of anti-leukocyte antibodies and leukocyte-crossmatch test for a large number of clinical samples.