TY - JOUR
T1 - Role and Relevance of Cerebrospinal Fluid Cells in Diagnostics and Research: State-of-the-Art and Underutilized Opportunities.
AU - Otto, Ferdinand
AU - Harrer, Christine
AU - Pilz, Georg
AU - Wipfler, Peter
AU - Harrer, Andrea
N1 - all: Department of Neurology, Paracelsus Medical University, Christian-Doppler-Klinik, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Harrer: Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Paracelsus Medical University, Landeskrankenhaus, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
PY - 2021/12/30
Y1 - 2021/12/30
N2 - Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has recently experienced a revival in diagnostics and research. However, little progress has been made regarding CSF cell analysis. For almost a century, CSF cell count and cytomorphological examination have been central diagnostic parameters, with CSF pleocytosis as a hallmark finding of neuroinflammation and cytology offering valuable clues regarding infectious, autoimmune, and malignant aetiologies. A great deal of information, however, remains unattended as modern immune phenotyping technologies have not yet been broadly incorporated into routine CSF analysis. This is a serious deficit considering the central role of CSF cells as effectors in central nervous system (CNS) immune defence and autoimmune CNS processes, and the diagnostic challenges posed by clinically overlapping infectious and immune-mediated CNS diseases. Here, we summarize historical, specimen-intrinsic, methodological, and technical issues determining the state-of-the-art diagnostics of CSF cells and outline future perspectives for this underutilized window into meningeal and CNS immunity.
AB - Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has recently experienced a revival in diagnostics and research. However, little progress has been made regarding CSF cell analysis. For almost a century, CSF cell count and cytomorphological examination have been central diagnostic parameters, with CSF pleocytosis as a hallmark finding of neuroinflammation and cytology offering valuable clues regarding infectious, autoimmune, and malignant aetiologies. A great deal of information, however, remains unattended as modern immune phenotyping technologies have not yet been broadly incorporated into routine CSF analysis. This is a serious deficit considering the central role of CSF cells as effectors in central nervous system (CNS) immune defence and autoimmune CNS processes, and the diagnostic challenges posed by clinically overlapping infectious and immune-mediated CNS diseases. Here, we summarize historical, specimen-intrinsic, methodological, and technical issues determining the state-of-the-art diagnostics of CSF cells and outline future perspectives for this underutilized window into meningeal and CNS immunity.
KW - CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM
KW - NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA
KW - CD4(+) T-CELLS
KW - FLOW-CYTOMETRY
KW - MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS
KW - B-CELLS
KW - BLOOD
KW - DISEASE
KW - CYTOLOGY
KW - SUBSETS
UR - https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC8774636
U2 - 10.3390/diagnostics12010079
DO - 10.3390/diagnostics12010079
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35054246
SN - 2075-4418
VL - 12
JO - DIAGNOSTICS
JF - DIAGNOSTICS
IS - 1
ER -