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Updated: Mar 15, 2026
Isolation of Uterine Innate Lymphoid Cells for Analysis by Flow Cytometry
Published on: October 14, 2021
Single-Tube Flow Cytometry Assay for the Detection of Mature Lymphoid Neoplasms in Paucicellular Samples
Alessandra Stacchini1, Anna Demurtas, Sabrina Aliberti
1Flow Cytometry Unit, Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy.
Objectives:
Flow cytometry (FC) has become a useful support for cytomorphologic evaluation (CM) of fine-needle aspirates (FNA) and serous cavity effusions (SCE) in cases of suspected non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). FC results may be hampered by the scarce viability and low cellularity of the specimens.
Study Design:
We developed a single-tube FC assay (STA) that included 10 antibodies cocktailed in 8-color labeling, a cell viability dye, and a logical gating strategy to detect NHL in hypocellular samples. The results were correlated with CM and confirmed by histologic or molecular data when available.
Results:
Using the STA, we detected B-type NHL in 31 out of 103 hypocellular samples (81 FNA and 22 SCE). Of these, 8 were not confirmed by CM and 2 were considered to be only suspicious. The FC-negative samples had a final diagnosis of benign/reactive process (42/72), carcinoma (27/72), or Hodgkin lymphoma (3/72).
Conclusions:
The STA approach allowed obtainment of maximum immunophenotyping data in specimens containing a low number of cells and a large amount of debris. The information obtained by STA can help cytomorphologists not only to recognize but also to exclude malignant lymphomas.
