mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC)

Specimen: 1) whole blood (heparin or sterile ACD-A) 2) donor & recipient samples should be collected at the same time Indications: 1) compatibility testing for tissue transplantation 2) used to determine the most compatible related donor 3) also used in testing compatibility of unrelated bone marrow donors Normal range: -> degree of stimulation is proportional to antigenic disparity at the HLA-D region Interferences: -> presence of blast cells may cause false positive reactions Procedure: 1) lymphocytes from a potential donor are mixed with lymphocytes from the recipient 2) the donor's lymphocytes are treated (irradiated) to prevent reactivity 3) the recipient's lymphocytes will respond by undergoing DNA synthesis & cell replication in relation to the degree of HLA_D disparity 4) the most compatible donor will give the least reactivity 5) reactivity is measured by tritiated thymidine uptake 6) the procedure requires 7-10 days for completion

References

Clinical Guide to Laboratory Tests, 3rd ed. Teitz ed., W.B. Saunders, 1995