Flow-cytometric assays
Two different assays were used for flow cytometric analysis of leucocytes. All measurements were performed on fresh blood within 4 h of collection. There was no significant amount of non-viable cells (< 1%) with this approach. The TruCount assay (containing CD45, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD16, CD56 fluorochrome-labelled monoclonal antibodies) provided information on the absolute concentration of major leukocyte populations (Fig. Gating of main leukocyte populations with TruCount assay. Flow cytometric analysis of a representative patient from the TACTIC trial is shown. At first, lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, and beads were gated in SSC-Area against the leukocyte marker CD45. Lymphocytes were sequentially gated into CD3