is cd19 an immunological diagnostic marker for acute appendicitis?

background: the appendix is considered as part of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue; however, lymphocyte subsets in this tissue are not fully defined. objective: to investigate and compare the function and phenotype of lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and appendix of patients with normal and inflamed appendix tissues. methods: peripheral blood samples and appendiceal mononuclear cells were obtained from 81 patients (mean age; 23 ± 10.5 years), clinically suspected of having appendicitis. the phenotypic characteristics of lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood (before and 48-72 hrs after appendectomy) and in appendix tissue were analyzed by three color-flow cytometry. the proliferative response of mononuclear cells was assessed by mtt method. results: the frequency of cd19+dr+, hla-dr+ and cd19+ cells in the appendix tissue were significantly higher than that of the peripheral blood in all the groups (p