title: A rosetting test with papain-treated erythrocytes (RBC) for the detection of a minor erythrocyte population (chimerism) with different antigenic expressivity.
abstract: A rosetting test with papain-treated erythrocytes was set up and evaluated for the detection of minor erythrocyte populations (chimerism), which can be distinguished by their antigenic differences. The test, for Rh system antigenic differences, has been able to detect erythrocyte populations with a 0.5: 1000 density and a sensitivity 3-4 times as high as that of the antiglobulin test. Critical elements for the optimization of the test are: the final ratio between papain-treated erythrocytes and erythrocytes examined (2:1); the specificity check of the antiserum used which, considering the increased sensitivity, must be performed by the rosetting test itself; the accurate and delicate resuspension of the final pellet. Some disadvantages are the impossibility to detect antigenicity that can be altered by papain and, above all, the scarce possibility of quantifying, if not roughly, the size of the minor population.
authors.affiliation: Blood Bank, G. Gaslini Research Children's Hospital, Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Franchini
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lanza
mesh_terms: D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000187:drug effects*; D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching / Q000379:methods*; D003298:Coombs Test; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D010206:Papain / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System / Q000032:analysis*; D012397:Rosette Formation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System; D010206:Papain