Quantitative analysis of leukocyte membrane antigen expression: normal adult values.

In this paper the normal ranges of the expression of various differentiation antigens, referred to by their cluster of differentiation (CD) numbers, are described on the lymphoid, monocytic, and polymorphonuclear (PMN) blood populations in normal healthy individuals. The values expressed as antibody binding capacity per cell (ABC/cell) are related to the density of antigenic molecules expressed by these cells. These values have been quantitated by the quantitative indirect immunofluorescence (QIFI) test which renders the ABC/ cell values for the different antigens directly comparable and defines a "league table," i.e., an enumeration of antigen expression on the three main cell types studied. The values for occasional antigen that are expressed differently in adults and the elderly or men and women (CD5, CD8, and CD18) are also shown. Furthermore, the QIFI test is used in two-color immunofluorescence for defining the subset heterogeneity within the T lineage for the CD2 and CD7 antigen within the separately analyzed CD45RA and CD45RO subsets. These quantitative immune phenotype analyses, also referred to as quantimetry, show variations in ABC values if different monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) are used, although these differences are frequently minor. Therefore, using whole blood and well-characterized MAbs, we established values of antigen density in normal adults which can be regarded as control values for the various pathological conditions where CD antigen expression may be altered.