Role and Relevance of Cerebrospinal Fluid Cells in Diagnostics and Research: State-of-the-Art and Underutilized Opportunities.

Ferdinand Otto (First author), Christine Harrer, Georg Pilz (Co-author), Peter Wipfler (Co-author), Andrea Harrer* (Last author)

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

3 Citations (Web of Science)

Abstract

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.
Original languageEnglish
JournalDIAGNOSTICS
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Dec 2021

Keywords

  • CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM
  • NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA
  • CD4(+) T-CELLS
  • FLOW-CYTOMETRY
  • MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS
  • B-CELLS
  • BLOOD
  • DISEASE
  • CYTOLOGY
  • SUBSETS

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