Pre-Transfusion Testing Flashcards
What is the principle of the Antiglobulin test? What is this also known as?
Based on the principle that AHGs from immunized nonhuman species bind to human Immunoglobulins like IgGs or complement either free, in serum, or attached antigens on RBCs. This test is also known as Coomb’s Test.
Discovery of AHG lead to the finding of what blood group systems?
- Duffy
- Kell
- Kidd
What are the two classes of AHG sera?
- Polyspecific
- Monospecific
What is the difference between monospecific and polyspecific AHG production?
- Monospecific - Hybrodoma technology; fuses murine spleen lymphocytes with myeloma cells to create immortal cell line. this make a specific antibody directed at a single epitope
Polyspecific- inject animals with human globulin components and collecting the antihuman antibodies. more than one spleen lymphocyte wille produce immunoglobulins. Sera directed at multiple epitopes.
What is contained in Rabbit Polyclonal?
What part of the immunoglobulin chain is it specific to?
What is contained in Monoclonal IgG?
- Contains anti-IgG with no complement activity through hybridoma technology.
- IgG heavy chain
- Murine Anti-IgG
All of the following are advantages of Monoclonal AHG except?
- Higher titre of Ab than polyclonal AHG
- No batch variation
- Not subject to cross reactivity
- Over-specificity
- Over- specificity (disadvantage)
What are some disadvantages of Monoclonal AHG?
- Over-specific
- only one epitope
- may need to blend serval monoclonal antibodies to ensure variants detected
- overly sensitive
- complement fixation may not start
What are the advantages of Polyclonal AHG?
More likely to pick up variants
cheaper
What are the disadvantages of Polyclonal AHG?
Low specificity
Low titre
What is contained in the following?
- Rabbit Polyclonal
- Rabbit/murine polyclonal blend
- Murine monoclonal
- anti-IgG and anti-C3d
- blend of antihuman IgG and murine monoclonal anti-C3b and anti-C3d
- Murine monoclonal anti-IgG, anti-C3b and anti-C3d
What class of antibodies make up a majority of the mixture in AHG?
IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses
Although rare, why might IgM antibodies be found in AHG?
Can fix complement so detected by anti-complement
What is the principle of IAT?
-
Detect in-vitro sensitized cells. This is a two stage process.
- Cells (antigens) exposed to antobodies via antisera / serum
- antobodies or complement sensitize RBC during invitro incubation phase; 37C in LISS/albumin
- Cells tested with AHG to check for sensitization and strenght of reation is graded
What is the principle of DAT?
- Detect in-vivo sensitized red cells with IgG and/or complement components.
- RBCs mixed with AHG to determine if sensitization has occurred.
Identify some of the causes of in-vivo antobody-antigen complexes? (4)
- AIHA
- HDN
- Drug-induced hemolytic anemia
- HTRs
When might a DAT be required?
- If patient has benn transfused over the last 2 weeks
- has a history of antibodies
- is pregnant
Why does the DAT not require an incubation phase?
Because the antigen-antobody complexes have occured in-vivo.
How are positive DAT results monitored?
DAT panel usisng monospecific anti-IgG and anti-C3d to determine the specific type of protein sensitizing the cell
Interpreting the significance of a postive DAT requires?
- Knowlege of patient’s diagnosis
- drug therapy
- recent transfusion therapy
- all of the above
All of the above
DAT can detect what level of IgG and C3d molecules per RBC?
- IgG = 100 - 500
- C3d = 400 - 1100
IAT can detect what level of IgG and C3d molecules per RBC?
- IgG and C3d = 100 - 200
What factors influence IgG molecules sensitized on RBC and rate of sensitization?
- Serum : cell ratio
- Reaction medium: Albumin, LISS, PEG
- Temp.
- Incubation time
- Washing RBCs
- Saline used for washing
- Addition of AHG
- Centrifugation for reading
What can cause false positives with the AHG test? (6)
- Bacterial contamination causeing T antigen activation (caused agglutination)
- Saline/glassware contamination
- Extreme reticulocytosis
- AHG contaminated with Rabbit-transferrin
- Positive DAT cells cannot be used in IAT as test would always be positive
- refridgerated specimens - cold auto abs sensitize cells
What can cause false negatives?
- Anticoagulated plasma / old serum
- poor washing can neutralize AHG
- Contamination with human globulins
- Elution of Ab during washing
- incorrect incubation temp.
- cell:serm ratio
- undercentrifucation
- Forgetting to put in AHG