T lymphocyte immunophenotyping in bronchoalveolar lavage on AQUIOS CL® cytometer

Abstract : Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is one of the tests for orientation in the diagnosis of diffuse parenchymal lung disease. Lymphocyte subpopulation study by flow cytometry in the BAL is part of the criteria for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. We investigated the feasibility of T lymphocyte immunophenotyping in BAL on a new automaton: AQUIOS CL®, a closed access cytometer with fully automated process designed for blood samples. Repeatability and contamination studies showed acceptable results (variation coefficients <5% and contamination indices <1%). We also compared BAL immunophenotyping results performed on AQUIOS CL® with those performed with an open access cytometer: Navios®. The correlation coefficient r is close to 1 on the studied parameters. The number of unacceptable measurement deviations is <5% and does not affect the biological interpretation of the results indicating a good correlation between the two automata. These results show that immunophenotyping in BAL is feasible on AQUIOS CL®.