A practical flow cytometric approach to leukocyte immunophenotyping in guinea pigs and its potential applications in lymphoid neoplasia
- 1Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Veterinary Research Institute , ,
- 2Department of Pathological Morphology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno , ,
- 3Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno , ,
Abstract
Flow cytometry is an established tool for leukocyte immunophenotyping in human and veterinary medicine, but its use in guinea pigs remains limited. This study aimed to develop a practical flow cytometric methodology for guinea pig leukocyte immunophenotyping, to describe immunophenotypic data from clinically healthy adult guinea pigs, and to assess its diagnostic applicability in selected cases of suspected lymphoproliferative disease. Clinically healthy adult client-owned guinea pigs aged 2-3 years and client-owned guinea pigs examined for presumptive lymphoid neoplasia were analyzed, with an additional experimental cohort included for age-related comparison of the T/B lymphocyte ratio. Multicolor flow cytometry panels combining CD45, MIL-4, panT, CD1b3, CD14, CD4, CD8, and intracellular CD79α were applied to identify major leukocyte populations, including granulocytes, monocytes, T cells, B cells, and CD4/CD8-defined T-cell subsets. In clinically healthy adult guinea pigs, both routine hematology and flow cytometry showed a lymphocyte-dominant peripheral blood profile. Flow cytometry demonstrated that lymphocytes accounted for a median of 62.5% of viable leukocytes, while neutrophils accounted for 8.0%, eosinophils for 8.5%, and monocytes for 3.0%. Within the lymphocyte gate, T cells were the predominant population, representing 78.9% of lymphocytes, while B cells were present in 6.3%; CD8⁺CD4⁻ T cells formed the largest T-cell subset. The T/B lymphocyte ratio did not differ significantly among guinea pigs aged 2 months, 9 months, and 2-3 years. All five histologically confirmed lymphoid neoplasms with a B-cell phenotype were associated with marked B-cell-predominant lymphocytosis in peripheral blood and low T/B ratios. The marked circulating lymphocytosis raised consideration of both lymphoma with peripheral blood involvement and primary B-cell leukemia. In cases in which affected tissue was also examined by flow cytometry, the tissue immunophenotype was consistent with a B-cell lymphoid neoplasm. Overall, the proposed antibody panel is readily implementable for guinea pig leukocyte immunophenotyping, confirms T-cell predominance among peripheral blood lymphocytes in healthy adult guinea pigs. Flow cytometry provided rapid complementary immunophenotypic information in guinea pigs with histologically confirmed lymphoid neoplasia, supporting its use as an adjunct to conventional diagnostic methods.
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BibTeX
@article{stepanova2026practical,
title = {{A practical flow cytometric approach to leukocyte immunophenotyping in guinea pigs and its potential applications in lymphoid neoplasia}},
author = {Hana Štěpánová and Edita Jeklová and Miša Škorič and Rea Jarošová and Vladimír Jekl},
journal = {Frontiers in veterinary science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fvets.2026.1926791},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13726546},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A practical flow cytometric approach to leukocyte immunophenotyping in guinea pigs and its potential applications in lymphoid neoplasia
AU - Hana Štěpánová
AU - Edita Jeklová
AU - Miša Škorič
AU - Rea Jarošová
AU - Vladimír Jekl
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Frontiers in veterinary science
DO - 10.3389/fvets.2026.1926791
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13726546
AB - Flow cytometry is an established tool for leukocyte immunophenotyping in human and veterinary medicine, but its use in guinea pigs remains limited. This study aimed to develop a practical flow cytometric methodology for guinea pig leukocyte immunophenotyping, to describe immunophenotypic data from clinically healthy adult guinea pigs, and to assess its diagnostic applicability in selected cases of suspected lymphoproliferative disease. Clinically healthy adult client-owned guinea pigs aged 2-3 years and client-owned guinea pigs examined for presumptive lymphoid neoplasia were analyzed, with an additional experimental cohort included for age-related comparison of the T/B lymphocyte ratio. Multicolor flow cytometry panels combining CD45, MIL-4, panT, CD1b3, CD14, CD4, CD8, and intracellular CD79α were applied to identify major leukocyte populations, including granulocytes, monocytes, T cells, B cells, and CD4/CD8-defined T-cell subsets. In clinically healthy adult guinea pigs, both routine hematology and flow cytometry showed a lymphocyte-dominant peripheral blood profile. Flow cytometry demonstrated that lymphocytes accounted for a median of 62.5% of viable leukocytes, while neutrophils accounted for 8.0%, eosinophils for 8.5%, and monocytes for 3.0%. Within the lymphocyte gate, T cells were the predominant population, representing 78.9% of lymphocytes, while B cells were present in 6.3%; CD8⁺CD4⁻ T cells formed the largest T-cell subset. The T/B lymphocyte ratio did not differ significantly among guinea pigs aged 2 months, 9 months, and 2-3 years. All five histologically confirmed lymphoid neoplasms with a B-cell phenotype were associated with marked B-cell-predominant lymphocytosis in peripheral blood and low T/B ratios. The marked circulating lymphocytosis raised consideration of both lymphoma with peripheral blood involvement and primary B-cell leukemia. In cases in which affected tissue was also examined by flow cytometry, the tissue immunophenotype was consistent with a B-cell lymphoid neoplasm. Overall, the proposed antibody panel is readily implementable for guinea pig leukocyte immunophenotyping, confirms T-cell predominance among peripheral blood lymphocytes in healthy adult guinea pigs. Flow cytometry provided rapid complementary immunophenotypic information in guinea pigs with histologically confirmed lymphoid neoplasia, supporting its use as an adjunct to conventional diagnostic methods.
SN - 2297-1769
ER -