Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells — What You Should Know?

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) are any blood cell with a single nucleus. These blood cells are a critical component in the human immune system to fight pathogens. PBMCs consist of lymphocytes (T, B, and NK cells), monocytes, and dendritic cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) that develop in the bone marrow and are an important line of defense against disease and infection in the peripheral blood. PBMCs are widely used in research fields including immunology, infectious diseases, hematological malignancies, etc.

Bio-Sample Sources

The most common starting material for PBMC isolation is peripheral blood. However, PBMC can also be isolated from other blood products, including whole blood, buffy coat, leukoreduction system chamber, leukopak, and others.

Methods for Isolating PBMCs

PBMC isolation protocols involve the isolation of lymphocytes directly from biological samples such as whole blood. PBMCs occupy only a small portion of a biological sample and are extremely difficult to study when crowded with other substances. Therefore, researchers must first isolate PBMC from whole blood before they can perform toxicology experiments.

• Density gradient medium
  PBMCs, which include lymphocytes and monocytes, have a specific gravity of about 1.070, whereas erythrocytes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes have a specific gravity of more than 1.080. This allows for density gradient centrifugation using a solution between the two specific gravities (called the stratification solution) to obtain single nucleated cells.
• Frit barrier
  Tubes containing a frit barrier provide better separation of the blood layers during the centrifugation step. The use of a frit barrier decreases the overall processing time and improves standardization.
• Cell preparation tubes (CPT)
  To provide easier PBMC isolation, CPT contains an anticoagulant plus a gel product that aids blood layer separation. CPT tubes can be centrifuged on-site and then shipped to the laboratory for the final isolation steps.
• Immunomagnetic cell separation
  Immunomagnetic cell separation (column-based or column-free) is a method for providing high-yield, high-purity PBMCs. This technique can also be used to enrich a sample for specific immune cell subsets.

Counting PBMCs

The final step in the isolation process is to assess PBMC quality. The viability and quantity of PBMCs can be estimated via manual cell counting. However, manual cell counting can be time-consuming and result in variation between operators. Automated counters provide an alternative standardized approach that is quicker to perform and often the preferred method for clinical research studies.

Freezing and Thawing PBMCs

• Freezing process
  Cryopreservation is a commonly used method for the long-term storage of cells, including human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from whole blood or leukopaks. To cryopreserve PBMCs, the cells are resuspended in a cryopreservation medium, cooled to extremely low temperatures, then stored at liquid nitrogen temperatures (below -135°C) until needed.
• Thawing process
  When the cells are needed, the frozen PBMCs can be thawed. Appropriate techniques and handling ensure optimal cell viability, recovery, and function in downstream applications.

PBMCs in Clinical Research

Over the past 50 years, PBMC has become increasingly important in clinical research. One reason for its growing popularity is the need for PBMC to develop CAR-T cells for cell and gene therapy. Other uses include, but are not limited to patient stratification, biomarker identification, immuno-oncology, toxicology, and rare disease research.

Creative Bioarray Relevant Recommendations

• PBMCs are now readily available from many commercial sources, with samples isolated from both healthy and diseased individuals. Creative Bioarray provides a high-quality and comprehensive range of PBMCs, to accelerate our customers' scientific research. Specifically, our products include but are not limited to Human Normal Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs), Human MULTIPLE MYELOMA, Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells, and Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (HPBMC).
• In addition, please browse our related products and services in the table below.