Addition of CD14 improves discrimination of lymphocytes in the TBNK phenotyping panel.

Peripheral blood lymphocyte phenotyping panels typically include CD45 for discrimination of the lymphocyte population, and fluorophore-conjugated monoclonal antibodies to identify T, B, and Natural Killer (NK) cells. While CD45 combined with side scatter is generally sufficient to clearly distinguish lymphocytes from monocytes in the majority of peripheral blood samples, it is challenging to accurately gate lymphocytes in samples from patients with monocytosis or significant lymphopenia, or from very young infants. Addition of a monocyte marker to lymphocyte phenotyping panels for monocyte exclusion has previously been evaluated for improved discrimination of lymphocytes, albeit largely in healthy donor adult samples.