Flow Cytometry as an Important Tool in Proteomic Profiling.

Flow cytometry enables the simultaneous detection of multiple surface and intracellular antigens for proteomic profiling of cells. This allows characterization and identification of specific cell subtypes within a heterogeneous population and is usually called immunophenotyping. Antigen-specific antibodies, conjugated to various fluorophores, are incubated with the sample to identify each marker. Fluorescent light of various wavelengths can be separated, detected, and converted into a digital signal in a flow cytometer. Here we describe an eight-color experiment to identify key peripheral blood cell types; however, this technique can be expanded to detect more than 30 parameters simultaneously.