Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May;100(3):361-369.
doi: 10.1002/cyto.b.21881. Epub 2020 Apr 25.

Flow cytometric evaluation of TRBC1 expression in tissue specimens and body fluids is a novel and specific method for assessment of T-cell clonality and diagnosis of T-cell neoplasms

Holly Berg  1 , Gregory E Otteson  1 , Heidi Corley  1 , Min Shi  1 , Pedro Horna  1 , Dragan Jevremovic  1 , Horatiu Olteanu  1
Affiliations
Free article

Flow cytometric evaluation of TRBC1 expression in tissue specimens and body fluids is a novel and specific method for assessment of T-cell clonality and diagnosis of T-cell neoplasms

Holly Berg et al. Cytometry B Clin Cytom. 2021 May.
Free article

Abstract

Background: Flow cytometric detection of T-cell clonality is challenging. The current available methodology for T-cell receptor (TCR) Vβ repertoire evaluation is a complex assay and has limited sensitivity especially for detecting low levels of disease. Therefore, there is an unmet need for a reliable, simple, and rapid assay to identify T-cell clonality. The rearrangement of the TCRB gene involves the random and mutually exclusive expression of one of two constant β chain genes (TRBC1 and TRBC2), analogous to the kappa and lambda gene utilization by B cells.

Methods: Here, we used a single TRBC1 antibody, in conjunction with other T-cell associated markers, to detect T-cell clonality in tissue biopsies and body fluids. A total of 143 tissue/body fluid specimens from 46 patients with a definitive diagnosis of a T-cell neoplasm and 97 patients with no T-cell malignancy were analyzed with a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies including CD2/CD3/CD4/CD5/CD7/CD8/CD45/TCRγδ/TRBC1.

Results: We examined TRBC1 expression on neoplastic T-cell populations identified based on their immunophenotypic aberrancies, and monotypic TRBC1 expression was identified in all 46 known T-cell lymphoma cases. We applied a similar gating strategy to the 97 cases without T-cell neoplasms, and arbitrarily dissected T-cell populations into immunophenotypically distinct subsets; in this group, we found that all cases revealed an expected polytypic TRBC1 expression in all subsets.

Conclusions: Single TRBC1 antibody detection of T-cell clonality by flow cytometry is a simple, rapid, and robust assay that could be routinely utilized in flow cytometric laboratories.

Keywords: T-cell clonality; T-cell neoplasms; TRBC1; flow cytometry.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Aggarwal, N., Fischer, J., Swerdlow, S. H., & Craig, F. E. (2013). Splenic lymphoid subsets with less well-recognized phenotypes mimic aberrant antigen expression. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 140, 787-794.
    1. Andreu-Ballester, J. C., Garcia-Ballesteros, C., Benet-Campos, C., Amigo, V., Almela-Quilis, A., Mayans, J., & Ballester, F. (2012). Values for alphabeta and gammadelta T-lymphocytes and CD4+, CD8+, and CD56+ subsets in healthy adult subjects: Assessment by age and gender. Cytometry Part B, Clinical Cytometry, 82, 238-244.
    1. Bruggemann, M., White, H., Gaulard, P., Garcia-Sanz, R., Gameiro, P., Oeschger, S., … Molina, T. J. (2007). Powerful strategy for polymerase chain reaction-based clonality assessment in T-cell malignancies report of the BIOMED-2 concerted action BHM4 CT98-3936. Leukemia, 21, 215-221.
    1. Chen, W., Kesler, M. V., Karandikar, N. J., McKenna, R. W., & Kroft, S. H. (2006). Flow cytometric features of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. Cytometry Part B, Clinical Cytometry, 70, 142-148.
    1. Jamal, S., Picker, L. J., Aquino, D. B., McKenna, R. W., Dawson, D. B., & Kroft, S. H. (2001). Immunophenotypic analysis of peripheral T-cell neoplasms. A multiparameter flow cytometric approach. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 116, 512-526.

Substances

LinkOut - more resources