BACKGROUND: Affordable, easy-to-use, and reliable CD4(+) T lymphocyte enumeration systems are needed in resource-constrained settings to monitor HIV. METHODS: A simple image cytometer was used to count fluorescently labeled CD4(+) T and CD8(+) T lymphocytes from CD3 immunomagnetically selected cells on blood specimens of 460 HIV-1-infected patients in Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. Results were compared with flow cytometry (FCM). RESULTS: CD4(+) T lymphocyte counts by image cytometer were comparable (R > or = 0.97) with those by the FACSCount and the FACScan with a bias of 7.3 and 9.1%, respectively. At very low CD4(+) T lymphocyte counts (< or =50/microl) some over-count outliers were observed by the FACScan and image cytometer when compared with the FACSCount. For CD8 enumeration, the image cytometer showed a good correlation (R = 0.96) and a consistent undercount (approximately 17%) when compared with the FACSCount. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation of the image cytometer for CD4 and CD8 enumeration demonstrated comparable results with FCM on a population of HIV-1-infected patients. The image cytometer is a good alternative method for point-of-care settings in resource-constrained countries.
BACKGROUND: Affordable, easy-to-use, and reliable CD4(+) T lymphocyte enumeration systems are needed in resource-constrained settings to monitor HIV. METHODS: A simple image cytometer was used to count fluorescently labeled CD4(+) T and CD8(+) T lymphocytes from CD3 immunomagnetically selected cells on blood specimens of 460 HIV-1-infectedpatients in Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. Results were compared with flow cytometry (FCM). RESULTS:CD4(+) T lymphocyte counts by image cytometer were comparable (R > or = 0.97) with those by the FACSCount and the FACScan with a bias of 7.3 and 9.1%, respectively. At very low CD4(+) T lymphocyte counts (< or =50/microl) some over-count outliers were observed by the FACScan and image cytometer when compared with the FACSCount. For CD8 enumeration, the image cytometer showed a good correlation (R = 0.96) and a consistent undercount (approximately 17%) when compared with the FACSCount. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation of the image cytometer for CD4 and CD8 enumeration demonstrated comparable results with FCM on a population of HIV-1-infectedpatients. The image cytometer is a good alternative method for point-of-care settings in resource-constrained countries.
Authors: David S Boyle; Kenneth R Hawkins; Matthew S Steele; Mitra Singhal; Xuanhong Cheng Journal: Trends Biotechnol Date: 2011-07-26 Impact factor: 19.536