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Technical comparison of four different extracorporeal photopheresis systems
Author(s) -
Brosig Andreas,
Hähnel Viola,
Orsó Evelyn,
Wolff Daniel,
Holler Ernst,
Ahrens Norbert
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.13728
Subject(s) - leukapheresis , photopheresis , apheresis , medicine , extracorporeal photopheresis , flow cytometry , extracorporeal , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , intense pulsed light , hematocrit , immunology , surgery , cd34 , transplantation , dermatology , stem cell , chemistry , graft versus host disease , biochemistry , platelet , genetics , lymphoma , in vitro , biology
BACKGROUND Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a therapeutic technique that combines leukapheresis and ultraviolet (UV)A irradiation of the leukapheresate after 8‐methoxypsoralen treatment with subsequent retransfusion. It can be achieved with a single device (online) or by combining an apheresis machine with a separate UVA light source (offline). The comparability of both established methods is unknown. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS In a prospective setting, four ECP systems were evaluated: one with integrated UVA irradiation for online ECP (Therakos) and three with external UVA irradiation for offline ECP (Amicus, Optia, and Cobe Spectra). Apheresis variables and cell counts were determined by methods including flow cytometry. RESULTS The duration of apheresis ranged from 120 minutes (Amicus, Optia) to 275 minutes (Therakos). Mononuclear cell (MNC) counts in the treatment bags were comparable between offline ECP methods (median, 57 × 10 8 – 66 × 10 8 ) and lower for online ECP (14 × 10 8 ). CD16+ monocytes were abundant in online ECP (82%) but rarer in offline ECP (median, 14% – 19%). Hematocrit ranged from 0.1% (Therakos) to 8% (Amicus). There were no side effects in any patients. DISCUSSION All offline ECP systems studied yielded comparable cellular compositions and highly enriched populations of MNCs. In contrast, white blood cells from online ECP displayed enrichment of nonclassical monocytes. The relevance of these findings is unknown as there is no established biomarker to predict the therapeutic efficacy of these procedures.