Peripheral blood mononuclear cell

For the internet slang term "PBMC", see ProblemBetweenMonitorChair.

A peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) is any blood cell having a round nucleus^[1]. For example: a lymphocyte, a monocyte or a macrophage. These blood cells are a critical component in the immune system to fight infection and adapt to intruders. The lymphocyte population consists of T cells (CD4 and CD8 positive ~75%), B cells and NK cells (~25% combined). The PBMC population also includes basophils and dendritic cells.

These cells can be extracted from whole blood using ficoll, a hydrophilic polysaccharide that separates layers of blood, which will separate the blood into a top layer of plasma, followed by a layer of PBMCs and a bottom fraction of polymorphonuclear cells (such as neutrophils and eosinophils) and erythrocytes. The polymorphonuclear cells can be further isolated by lysing the red blood cells.

PBMCs are widely used in research and clinical uses.

See also Peripheral blood cell.

Research Applications

Many scientists conducting research in the fields of immunology (including auto-immune disorders), infectious disease, hematological malignancies, vaccine development, Transplant Immunology, and high-throughput screening are frequent users of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells. In many cases, PBMCs are derived from blood banks.

References

1. ^ Delves, Peter, et al. Roitt's Essential Immunology, 11th Ed. ISBN 978-1-4051-3603-7