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Selected Publication:
Dreßen, J.
Determination of reference intervals for extended lymphocyte phenotyping, lymphocyte stimulation and cytokine levels
Humanmedizin; [ Diplomarbeit ] Graz Medical University; 2018. pp. 130
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- Authors Med Uni Graz:
- Advisor:
- Graninger Winfried
- Stradner Martin Helmut
- Altmetrics:
- Abstract:
- Introduction: To further our understanding of the immune system’s function, it is necessary to conduct research within a healthy population. The aim of this study was to describe what constitutes a healthy immune system by determining reference intervals for lymphocyte subsets that will also improve the Department for Rheumatology and Immunology’s diagnostic methods and are part of the department’s certification process. Methods: 128 persons, 56 females and 72 males, participated in our study after giving written consent. We performed extended lymphocyte immunophenotyping, lymphocyte stimulation and cytokine measurement. After testing for outliers, we determined the reference intervals with a parametric or non-parametric method. We also tested for correlations between the subsets and age, CRP, BMI and cytokines and for differences regarding gender and smoking status. Results: We successfully determined relative and absolute reference intervals for lymphocyte subsets in a healthy Austrian population. Interestingly, we observed a negative correlation between CRP and activated CD38+ T cells. We observed a positive correlation between CRP and BMI and negative correlations between lymphocytes and age. In agreement with previous reports, we observed three phenomena: First, phenotypical and functional changes the immune system undergoes in the process of aging. Second, a sexual dimorphism in the immune system with a higher percentage and absolute lymphocyte counts in females than in males. Third, in most of the investigated cases, smokers had a distinctive higher cell count than and non-smokers. Discussion: The comparison of our reference intervals with similar studies conducted in Europe showed only a limited transferability, which is most likely caused by different methods applied to determine the reference ranges. To improve the diagnostic validity of extended immunophenotyping, further studies, conducted within populations with bacterial infections or autoimmune disorders, are necessary.