COMPARISON BETWEEN DUAL AND TRICOLOR REAGENTS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF LYMPHOCYTE SUBSETS

The aim of this project was to compare dual and tri-colour reagents fo r lymphocyte immunophenotyping. A total of 37 patient and normal speci mens were immunophenotyped concurrently with the following mean values (% dual vs tri-colour) : CD3 (69.4 vs 68.3) CD4 (24.0 vs 24.2) and CD 19 (13.9 vs 12.6). A comparison of the results obtained using the pair ed t test showed that there were no significant differences for cells expressing CD3, CD4 and CD19. However, there was a significant differe nce in the NK (18.3 vs 16.3) cell component. A major advantage in usin g 3 colour immunophenotyping is the ability to analyse specimens that cannot be analysed using dual colour reagents due to debris or contami nation of the gate with non-lymphocytic cells.