Application Note: Streck Cell Preservative Preserves Fine Needle Aspiration Samples For Immunophenotyping By Flow Cytometry

By Majd Jundi, M.D., John Rees, Ph.D., Myong Ho Nam, M.D. Department of Pathology, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C.

An important clinical application of flow cytometry is the immunophenotyping of unique expression of cell surface cytoplasmic markers. It has become a critical element for the diagnosis of hematological malignancies with the new WHO classification of leukemia and lymphoma. The classification requires lineage and immunologic features for the diagnosis, and when combined with fine needle aspiration, many cases of leukemia and lymphoma can be diagnosed easily without invasive open biopsies.

The delay in processing and storing flow cytometry samples is an unavoidable consequence of transportation from remote locations or from late night procedures. This situation will require the study of stability of both light scattering properties and cell surface markers on mononuclear cells from different types of flow cytometry samples prior to immunophenotyping.

Streck Cell Preservative is a storage solution for lymphoid tissue, bone marrow aspirates, whole blood or buffy coat preparations of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This reagent has been used to successfully preserve cells of many origins for flow cytometry analysis. However, there is no current documentation describing the use of Streck Cell Preservative with fine needle aspirate (FNA) samples. The nature of this type of sample makes it difficult to obtain a sufficient volume of material for analysis. This technical brief explores the use of Streck Cell Preservative to preserve fine needle aspirations and body fluid specimens. The data presented establishes the effectiveness of Streck Cell Preservative for fine needle aspirations and body fluid specimens prior to flow cytometry analysis.