Properties and units in the clinical laboratory sciences. Part XXVIII. NPU codes for characterizing subpopulations of the hematopoietic lineage, described from their clusters of differentiation molecules (IUPAC Technical Report)

doi:10.1515/ci-2025-0121

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Properties and units in the clinical laboratory sciences. Part XXVIII. NPU codes for characterizing subpopulations of the hematopoietic lineage, described from their clusters of differentiation molecules (IUPAC Technical Report)

Published/Copyright: January 20, 2025

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From the journal Chemistry International Volume 47 Issue 1

Evita Maria Lindholm, Eli Taraldsrud, Jakob Thaning Bay, Mats Bemark, Jens Magnus Bernth Jensen, Rebecca Ceder, Elisabeth Abrahamsen, Fatma Meric Yilmaz, Sridevi Devaraj, Eline van der Hagen and Helle Møller Johannessen

Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2024

Vol. 96, no. 11, 2024, pp. 1573-1582

https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2023-0806

Examination results from clinical laboratories in the health area has increased through the last decades. Coding of laboratory analyses is an efficient way of securing standardized and accurate recording of patient information, which can then serve as an invaluable resource for clinical treatment decisions, improved patient care and medical research. The Nomenclature for Properties and Units (NPU) terminology was developed to support correct and standardized exchange of data across laboratories and ehealth systems. Use of the NPU terminology allows clinical examination results to be recognized, compared, reused in calculations, extracted for research or statistics, and stored for documentation, without loss of meaning. The terminology has been developed since the 1990’s with support from the international organizations IFCC (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine) in collaboration with IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry).

Numerous diseases are associated with alterations in peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations, and the need to communicate the different cell types and differentiation states is therefore of outmost importance for clinical decisions in diagnosis, prognosis, and patient monitoring. Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are multipotent, self-renewing progenitor cells from which all differentiated blood cell types arise during the process of hematopoiesis. These cells include lymphocytes, granulocytes, and macrophages of the immune system, as well as circulating erythrocytes and platelets. The lymphocytes, with the two distinct classes of B- and T-cells, constitutes the core of the adaptive immune system. And the differentiation of T-cells into effector and memory subsets represents a fundamental role in our ability to fight viruses or tumors, and our capacity to expand rapidly upon a secondary stimulation.

This document describes how the Nomenclature for Properties and Units (NPU) terminology can be applied to differentiate between cell subpopulations of the hematopoietic lineage. The clusters of differentiation molecules are included in the NPU syntax, together with its correct affiliations to indicate their presence or absence. This allows for identification and isolation of cell populations, subsets, and differentiation stages, which is essential for correct diagnosis and treatment of several malignancies and autoimmune diseases.

https://iupac.org/project/2021-022-1-700/

Published Online: 2025-01-20

Published in Print: 2025-01-01

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