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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Characterization of Human Monocyte Subsets by Whole Blood Flow Cytometry Analysis
Published on: October 17, 2018
Analysis of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in normal Saudi males by flow cytometry
S T Al-Sedairy1, A N Al-Dalaan, A Haq
1Department of Biological and Medical Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Department of Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Healthy Saudi males show a lower CD4/CD8 T cell ratio, potentially due to environmental factors like heat and UV radiation, alongside genetic influences. This finding impacts understanding T lymphocyte distribution in diverse populations.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Hematology
- Clinical Research
Background:
- Flow cytometry is crucial for lymphocyte immunophenotyping in clinical and research settings.
- Understanding lymphocyte subset distribution is vital for patient management and epidemiological studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the distribution of key lymphocyte subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16, CD19) in healthy Saudi males.
- To compare these distributions with Caucasian expatriate controls and investigate the CD4/CD8 ratio.
Main Methods:
- Flow cytometry was used to analyze lymphocyte subsets in 150 healthy Saudi male blood donors.
- Two-color labeling and Simultest software were employed for cell analysis.
- Data were compared with 40 healthy Caucasian expatriate male controls.
Main Results:
- The distribution of T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells was comparable to other populations and controls.
- A significantly decreased CD4/CD8 T cell ratio was observed in the Saudi cohort.
- This decrease was attributed to lower CD4 counts and higher CD8 counts.
Conclusions:
- The observed lower CD4/CD8 ratio in Saudi males may be influenced by environmental factors (UV radiation, heat stress) and genetic factors.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the specific mechanisms behind these observed differences in lymphocyte subsets.
Abstract:
Lymphocyte immunophenotyping using flow cytometer has become an important tool for clinical patient management as well as for research and epidemiological studies. We examined the distribution of CD3 (all T cells), CD4 (T helper/inducer cells), CD8 (T suppressor/totoxic cells), CD16 (natural killer cells) and CD19 (B cells) in 150 healthy Saudi male blood donors using flows cytometry. The two-color labeled cells were analyzed by using the flow cytometer (FACScan, Becton-Dickinson, San Jose, California, USA) and the dual fluorescent subsets were discriminated by Simultest software. The distribution of T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells were similar to those reported in other populations as well as in normal Caucasian expatriate donors (all males) (n = 40) who were included in this study as controls. However, a significantly decreased CD4/CD8 ratio was observed in most Saudi blood donors. These lower ratios were due to decreased CD4 together with an increase in CD8 cells. Significant (P<0.00001) difference in CD4/CD8 ratio in our study may be due to environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation and stress (heat) as well as some genetic factors.
