B Lymphocyte (B Cell) & Plasma Cell Immunophenotyping Service

To precisely identify different types of B cells, we use a carefully chosen set of markers.

Key B Cell Identity Markers:

• CD19: This is our most reliable general marker for B cells, found on most of them from early stages to plasma cells. However, we're careful, as some treatments or other cells (like certain CAR-T cells) can also show CD19.
• CD20: Found on mature B cells. Its presence can be reduced or lost in certain blood cancers like CLL/SLL, and it's directly affected by common cancer drugs like Rituximab.
• CD22: Another marker for B cells, from early to mature stages. Like CD20, its levels can drop in diseases like CLL/SLL. We also know that some CD22 tests can bind to other cells, so we choose the best methods to ensure accuracy.

Markers for Specific B Cell Functions and Disease Signs:

• CD10, CD27, CD38: These help us identify different B cell stages (e.g., memory B cells) or activated cells.
• Surface Light Chains (κ and λ): Unique patterns of these markers help us spot abnormal or cancerous B cells. We use special techniques to avoid misleading results.
• CD5, CD40, CD37, CD24: These markers help identify specific types of B cell cancers (like CLL/SLL) or provide additional ways to confirm B cell identity, especially when other markers are affected by treatment.
• Internal Markers: We can also look inside cells for markers like specific proteins or cytokines. This gives us even more detail about how B cells are functioning and what type they are.

Modern cancer treatments often change how B cells look to our tests. This is why Creative Biolabs uses advanced "gating strategies" – a way of carefully sorting and identifying cells – to overcome these challenges.

• Handling Missing Markers After Treatment: When treatments remove or hide markers like CD20 or CD19 on B cells, we don't just stop there.
  
  • If CD20 is low or gone, we rely on CD19 and CD22, and look for specific abnormal patterns or use alternative markers like CD40 in combination with CD19.
  • If CD19 is low or gone, we check for CD20 and CD22. We also use other markers like CD40 or even look inside the cell for CD79a. We also have ways to make sure we don't confuse B cells with other cell types, such as CAR-T cells, which can sometimes appear similar.
• Precisely Identifying Plasma Cells: Plasma cells, which make antibodies, also present unique challenges, especially after treatment.
  
  • Traditional markers like CD38 and CD138 can be affected by time or by new anti-myeloma drugs.
  • Creative Biolabs uses more stable alternative markers like CD229 and CD319 in our tests. These markers help us reliably find plasma cells even when CD38 or CD138 are absent or changed.
  • We also confirm plasma cell identity by looking for specific proteins inside the cells, called cytoplasmic light chains.
  • We also look for new treatment targets on plasma cells, like BCMA, to help guide therapy choices for patients with diseases like Multiple Myeloma.

Creative Biolabs constantly updates its methods to get the most accurate and useful data:

• Minimizing Background Noise: When using many different colored markers, signals can sometimes overlap. We use advanced instruments and special dyes that reduce this overlap, making our results clearer and more precise.
• Getting More Information from Each Sample: We can simultaneously measure markers on the cell surface and inside the cell. This dual approach gives us a richer, more complete picture of what a cell is and what it's doing, all from a single sample.
• Smart Marker Selection: We carefully choose which colored marker to attach to each cell protein based on how much of that protein is present on the cell. This "antigen density" strategy ensures that even rare or dimly marked cells are clearly visible in our analysis. We use very bright dyes for these hard-to-see markers to ensure excellent resolution.