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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Quantitative Assessment of Immune Cells in the Injured Spinal Cord Tissue by Flow Cytometry: a Novel Use for a Cell Purification Method
Published on: April 9, 2011
CD14 expression in injured patients correlates with outcome
M Heinzelmann1, M Mercer-Jones, W G Cheadle
1Price Institute of Surgical Research, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, School of Medicine, Kentucky 40292, USA.
Objective:
The authors determined the correlation between monocyte CD14 expression and outcome in severely injured patients.
Summary Background Data:
Human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) expression CD14 positive monocytes correlates with the development of major infection and subsequent death in severely injured patients. Recent studies show that CD14 is not only a marker for mature monocytes, but also is an important endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide receptor.
Methods:
Flow cytometry data obtained by dual staining techniques (CD14 and HLA-DR) of monocytes in 213 severely injured patients were analyzed over a 30-day period. Outcome criteria included survival and the development of both major and minor infections.
Results:
The percentage of cells expressing CD14 (%CD14) correlated with clinical outcome, reaching significance (p < 0.05) between noninfected survivors (n = 74) and nonsurvivors (n = 21) at days 3, 7, 11, 17, 24, and 30. At days 3, 7, and 17, the %CD14 also was different between noninfected and infected survivors. After 7 days, differences were only seen between survivors and nonsurvivors (p < 0.05). The mean fluorescence intensity (MC CD14) in monocytes of all patients was significantly reduced at day 3 compared with day 1 and remained low for 30 days (p < 0.05). The nonsurvivor group had consistently low MC CD14 values, which were significant at day 5 (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
In addition to HLA-DR expression, CD14 expression on monocytes is an indicator of clinical outcome after injury and could represent a more precise target for treatment.
