Cellular Immunology Proficiency Testing Program
Cellular Immunology Category Descriptions
The assays covered under Cellular Immunology Proficiency Testing are as follows:
- Lymphoid Functional assays
- Non-Lymphoid Functional Assays
- Lymphoid/T-lymphoid Immunophenotyping
- Non-lymphoid Immunophenotyping
- Malignant Leukocyte Immunophenotyping
Lymphoid Functional Assays
This category includes testing lymphocyte function by in vitro assays (e.g., antigen-, alloantigen-, and mitogen-stimulated proliferation, cytolytic assays, and cytokine or immunoglobulin production). The determination of cytokines in serum, plasma, or CSF is included in the Cytokines category.
Non-Lymphoid Functional Assays
This category includes testing monocytic and myeloid functions by in vitro assays (e.g., neutrophil generation of reactive oxygen species, monocyte phagocytosis, or the production of cytokines).
Lymphoid/T-Lymphoid Immunophenotyping
These categories include the use of flow cytometry to identify and enumerate populations of normal (non-malignant) lymphocytes with different surface markers to assess the immunological status of an individual. Lymphoid Immunophenotyping is for laboratories that perform tests for any markers in addition to CD3/CD4 and CD3/CD8. T-Lymphoid Immunophenotyping applies to laboratories that restrict testing to the CD3/CD4 and CD3/CD8 lymphocyte subsets; these laboratories take an abbreviated proficiency test, restricted to the quantification of the CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocyte populations
Non-lymphoid Immunophenotyping
This category includes methodologies to quantify the number of non-malignant leukocytes other than lymphocytes (e.g., stem cells, PNH, or LAD).
Malignant Leukocyte Immunophenotyping
This category utilizes flow cytometry to identify and characterize leukemias or lymphomas in blood and tissue specimens based on cell phenotype (including cell surface and cytoplasmic antigens) with or without ploidy analyis.