Clinical Flow Cytometry, a Hypothesis-Driven Discipline of Modern Cytomics
Reprinted with permission of Cytometry Part A, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Cytometry Part A 58A:87–97 (2004) Clinical Flow Cytometry, a Hypothesis-Driven Discipline of Modern Cytomics George Janossy* HIV Immunology, Department of Immunology and Molecular Pathology, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, United Kingdom Recently, two major books have been published that regulatory processes, and proteomics investigates the summarize the historical aspects and recent achievements abundance of proteins simultaneously with the changes of practical flow cytometry (1,2). Both emphasize the role associated with alterations of the functional state of the played by this newly developed technical discipline in the cell. Such a “pseudo-functional” approach aims to extend development of scientific (1) and diagnostic platforms the study of quantitative changes during differentiation, during late 20th-century medicine (2). Indeed, the gray proliferation, and signaling of different cell types (5). box called a flow cytometer is the result of a multidisci- Clearly, there is an enormous, newly generated influx of plinary collaboration between engineers, biophysicists, information here, but it is not certain that a mere analysis biochemists, histopathologists, molecular cytologists, he- of genes and protein structure, even in its extended for- matologists, immunologists, and quality controllers, with a mat that includes the interaction of various biomolecules, more recent contribution from physicians specializing in will provide all of the necessary information to understand the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), oncologists, function and regulation at the level of living cells and and epidemiologists (Table 1). organisms. Hence, the concept of cytomics has been in- The foresight by the “fathers” has been astonishing (1).
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