Flow cytometric detection of leukemic blasts in Libyan pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

ABSTRACTThe diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is the most common type of cancer in children, has become more accurate with the use of flow cytometry. Here, this technology was used to immunophenotype leukemic cells in peripheral blood samples from Libyan pediatric ALL patients. We recruited 152 newly diagnosed patients at Tripoli Medical Center (Tripoli, Libya) by morphological examination of blood and bone marrow. Twenty-three surface and cytoplasmic antigen markers were used to characterize B and T cells in circulating blood cells by four-color flow cytometry. Six children (3.9%) turned out to have biphenotypic acute leukemia, 88 (57.9%) had B ALL, and 58 (38.1%) had T ALL. There were 68 cases of pro-B ALL CD10-positive (44.7%), 8 cases of pro-B ALL CD10-negative (5.2%), 6 cases of pre-B ALL (3.9%), and 6 of mature-B ALL (3.9%). CD13 was the most commonly expressed myeloid antigen in ALL. We present immunophenotypic data for the first time describing ALL cases in Libya. The reported results indicate that the most common subtype was pro-B ALL, and the frequency of T-ALL subtype was higher compared to previous studies. Six cases were positive for both myeloid and B lymphoid markers. Our findings may provide the basis for future studies to correlate immunophenotypic profile and genetic characteristics with treatment response among ALL patients

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies Post-COVID-19 or Post-Vaccination in Libyan Population: Comparison of Four Vaccines

Measurement of strength and durability of SARS-COV-2 antibody response is important to understand the waning dynamics of immune response to both vaccines and infection. The study aimed to evaluate the level of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and their persistence in recovered, naïve, and vaccinated individuals. We investigated anti-spike RBD IgG antibody responses in 10,000 individuals, both following infection with SARS-CoV-2 and immunization with SARS-COV-2 AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinopharm, and Sinovac. The mean levels of anti-spike IgG antibodies were higher in vaccinated participants with prior COVID-19 than in individuals without prior COVID-19. Overall, antibody titers in recovered vaccinee and naïve vaccinee persisted beyond 20 weeks. Vaccination with adenoviral–vector vaccines (AstraZeneca and Sputnik V) generates higher antibody titers than with killed virus vaccine (Sinopharm and Sinovac). Approximately two-thirds of asymptomatic unvaccinated individuals had developed virus-specific antibodies. A single dose of vaccine is likely to provide greater protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals with apparent prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, than in SARS-CoV-2-naive individuals. In addition, the high number of seropositivity among asymptomatic unvaccinated individuals showed that the number of infections are probably highly underestimated. Those vaccinated with inactivated vaccine may require more frequent boosters than those vaccinated with adenoviral vaccine. These findings are important for formulating public health vaccination strategies during COVID-19 pandemic