Reproducibility of Flow Cytometry Through Standardization: Opportunities and Challenges

Area of Science:

• * Immunology
• * Biomedical Engineering
• * Laboratory Medicine

Background:

• * Interlaboratory reproducibility in flow cytometry is crucial for reliable scientific findings.
• * Current practices often lack consensus on methodological approaches, leading to variability.
• * Standardization and harmonization are proposed as solutions to improve consistency.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To discuss the importance of consensual methodological approaches in flow cytometry.
• * To review existing standardization and harmonization efforts by major consortia.
• * To identify challenges and propose a framework for achieving optimal flow cytometry standardization.

Main Methods:

• * Review of standardization strategies employed by EuroFlow, The ONE Study, and HIPC.
• * Analysis of tools and outcomes of these standardization initiatives.
• * Examination of challenges in instrument design, reagents, and quality control.

Main Results:

• * Standardization efforts aim for common immunophenotype interpretation, accurate quantification, and reproducible multicolor patterns.
• * Various consortia have adopted different tools and approaches to achieve standardization.
• * Challenges remain in instrument hardware, setup, reagents, and quality features.

Conclusions:

• * Complete standardization is vital for measurement reproducibility, education, quality assessment, and algorithmic data analysis.
• * Standardized approaches serve as essential benchmarking tools for future flow cytometry studies.
• * Tailoring standardization requirements to specific study aims is necessary.