MyCyte

Stamford, CT (PRWEB) September 29, 2010

Plainview, NY, September 2010 -- Acupath Laboratories Inc. has announced it is now offering flow cytometry testing using the FLAER reagent for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), an acquired genetic blood disorder.

PNH is a progressive and destructive disease that can cause thrombosis, end organ damage, and increased mortality. Only recently approved from the New York State Department of Health, Acupath is one of the few labs in the tri-state area to use the new FLAER reagent for the diagnosis of PNH, along with the traditional CD55 and CD59 antibody staining.

PNH affects 8,000-10,000 people in North America and Europe, typically striking men and women in their early 30s. It develops without warning and, because it is so rare, PNH often goes unrecognized, with delays in diagnosis ranging from one to more than 10 years. PNH patients tend to survive 10-15 years from the time they are diagnosed.

Dr. Zsuzsanna Vegh-Goyarts, Ph.D., co-director of flow cytometry and tumor markers for Acupath Laboratories, a leader in hematological pathology, explained that PNH is a hematopoietic stem cell disorder caused by a somatic mutation of a single gene. “This mutation may occur in PNH, as well as in aplastic anemia and myelodysplasia or Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) resulting in PNH-like clones. Patients with the defective gene have a partial or complete deficiency of the GPI anchor proteins -for example CD55 and CD59-, that are protecting cells from lysis,” she explains. “These proteins are lost in PNH clones that causes the lysis of the red blood cells in PNH patients. The loss of these cell surface molecules is detectable by flow cytometry,” says Dr Vegh-Goyarts. “Traditionally the red blood cell CD55 and CD59 were the diagnostic targets, however testing only the red blood cells will lead to false negative results, since they are sensitive to lysis and may not be detectable. “The second lineage of choice for testing is the granulocytes. One can test for CD55 and CD59 on the granulocytes as well, but research in recent years lead to a more specific reagent, FLAER, ” she explains.

New Dye`s Emission Spectrum Closely Resembles Pacific Orange

BREA, Calif. (September 16, 2010) – Beckman Coulter, Inc. introduces Krome Orange, a novel violet-excited organic dye that expands the range of available choices and dye sensitivity limits for violet lasers. Common gating markers can be easily transferred to this fluorochrome, freeing other channels for use with more esoteric markers and enabling more versatile 10-color flow cytometry applications.

Krome Orange has excitation and emission maxima of 398 nm and 528 nm respectively and provides a brighter signal than Pacific Orange* conjugates with equivalent spectral overlaps into adjacent channels. The new dye is at least as bright as V500 and can provide more than twice the population separation obtained with Pacific Orange dye conjugates, with little compensation compared to Pacific Blue* dye

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