Implementation of TREC/KREC detection protocol for newborn SCID screening in Bulgaria: a pilot study.

Neonatal screening for inborn errors of immunity (IEI), based on quantification of T-cell-receptor- excision circles (TRECs) and kappa-deleting recombination-excision circles (KRECs) from dried blood spots (DBS), allows early diagnosis and improved outcomes for the affected children. Determination of TREC/KREC levels from prospectively collected newborns' Guthrie cards and from DBS samples of patients with confirmed IEI was done using a commercial kit. Retrospective assessment of flow cytometry evaluation of TREC/KREC correspondence with lymphocyte subpopulations and evaluation of the correlations between TREC and KREC with immune cells, based on the data from patients with suspected or confirmed immune disorders, were conducted.

Immune Cell Subsets Evaluation as a Predictive Tool for Hepatitis B Infection Outcome and Treatment Responsiveness.

Background: The patient's immune response is one of the major factors influencing HBV eradication or chronification, and it is thought to be responsible for the treatment success.

Aim: Our study aimed to investigate whether cellular defense mechanisms are associated with the course of HBV infection (spontaneous recovery [SR] or chronification [CHB]) and with the therapeutic approach.

Patients And Methods: A total of 139 patients (118 with CHB, 21 SR) and 29 healthy individuals (HI) were immunophenotyped by flowcytometry.

Evaluation of lymphocyte subpopulations in cord blood of Bulgarian newborns.

Background: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a clinically useful source of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells for treatment of a wide variety of malignant and non-malignant disorders. An important way to completing infor- mation on the quality and composition of units for transplantation is more extensive immunophenotyping of UCB. Moreover, phenotyping of lymphocyte subpopulations is essential for the diagnosis and follow-up of children with immunodeficiencies and other immune disorders and therefore, establishment of age-matched reference values of lymphocyte subsets is a necessity for each population.