Impedance flow cytometry is a quick and easy method for estimating the numbers and viability of bacteria in faecal microbiota samples, according to Anne-Christine Joly (Saint Antoine Hospital, Paris).

Pharmaceutical preparation units need rapid, economical methods for testing of faecal microbiota transplant material. It is possible to estimate the total microbial load and viability using flow cytometry but this is costly and complex to implement. The technique requires fluorescent labelling of cells. Impedance flow cytometry (IFC) counts and analyses cells by measuring variations in electrical current as they pass individually through an electromagnetic field. This study aimed to compare IFC with the current reference method (culture) to determine its usefulness for routine use.

Twenty stool samples, 10 from healthy donors and 10 from patients, were analysed by both methods. The results showed that there was no statistical difference between the two counting methods. The researchers concluded that the high degree of concordance between the results suggested IFC would be a robust method for estimating total bacterial concentration and viability. IFC has the advantage of not needing specific [fluorescent] markers. However, it cannot identify bacterial species, noted Mme Joly.

Sintes R et al. Evaluating microbial viability differently: impedance cytometry versus culture. Short communication. GERPAC Congress 2025

Photo: Anne-Christine Joly.  Photo – courtesy of GERPAC

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The survey asked over 1,000 American adults questions about their understanding of plasma donation and lifesaving plasma-derived medicines. Plasma, a component of blood, is essential in producing treatments for a variety of serious health conditions, including immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders, severe burns, and more. It is also used in everyday health care settings, such as during surgeries, childbirth, and organ transplants.

The need for plasma-derived medicines continues to rise as science reveals new uses and indications, as advances in standards of care expand their role in treatment. With hundreds of thousands of patients around the world depending on these unique therapies – and because plasma cannot be recreated in a lab – the importance of plasma donation is vital. The Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) commissioned the poll to better understand Americans’ perception of the growing need for plasma-derived medicines.

Notable survey findings include:

• Eight in ten survey respondents have never donated plasma.
• About half (49%) of Americans who have never donated plasma feel they do not know enough about the donation process.
• The survey also revealed a perceived disparity between blood and plasma donation, with 65% of respondents believing there is a greater need for donated blood than plasma, and 60% feeling that blood donation benefits more people.

“As the survey results show, there is increasing public awareness of the essential role plasma donation plays in saving lives,” stated Anita Brikman, President and CEO of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association. “However, understanding must continue to advance in order to meet growing patient needs. During IPAW, it’s important to recognize plasma donors as everyday heroes because, as the survey shows, Americans know that plasma donation saves lives.”

“As a patient who relies on the generosity of plasma donors, I feel optimistic about the survey results,” said Lillie Hunnicut, a Seattle-based plasma advocate and common variable immune deficiency patient who shares her journey on social media as @chronically.lils. “Donating plasma helps create medicines that help me and many others thrive! Thanks to my plasma-derived therapy, I can now run, hike, climb, and be active and present in my daily life in a way that I wasn’t for several years before my diagnosis and treatment. I am so grateful to the many donors who have given me not just my life back – but have strengthened my sense of hope in humanity.”

“An estimated half a million Americans have been diagnosed with a primary immunodeficiency (PI), though the actual number is likely much higher due to widespread underdiagnosis,” said Jorey Berry, President and CEO of the Immune Deficiency Foundation. “Many individuals with PI depend on life-saving plasma-derived medicines that cannot be manufactured synthetically and can only be produced through the generosity of human donors. It is my hope that this survey and International Plasma Awareness Week will shine a much-needed spotlight on the critical, ongoing need for plasma donation and help raise awareness of these often-overlooked immune system disorders.”

For more on the survey and its findings, please reach out to media@pptaglobal.org. PPTA encourages all healthy adults over the age of 18 to consider giving the gift of life through plasma donation. Visit www.pptaglobal.org/donate to learn more and find a donation center near you.

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The new case of long-term HIV remission was reported on Feb. 15 at the 29th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, in Denver.

The patient received transplants of blood- and immune-cell replenishing stem cells after having her own blood cell population, including leukemic cells, destroyed by high-dose chemotherapy. The transplanted cells came from two sources: stem cells from a healthy adult relative were used to quickly restore her blood cell population to reduce infectious complications, and umbilical cord blood from an unrelated newborn child was used to provide long-term blood reconstitution.

Cord blood is used to supply blood stem cells for transplants for patients unable to find matched adult donors. Transplant specialists have found that cord blood may be used successfully even when they come from an unrelated donor whose immune markers only partially match the recipient’s.

Doctors in this case used cord blood containing an HIV-resistance gene variant called CCR5Δ32. HIV normally uses the CCR5 co-receptor to help it infect immune cells, but the receptor’s Δ32 variant effectively blocks viral entry.

Three months after the transplant, tests showed that the patient’s blood cell population was entirely derived from the HIV-resistant cord blood cells. Post-transplant studies could no longer detect HIV by various sensitive assays. The patient eventually stopped taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress her HIV infection, and so far, has been off the HIV drugs for 14 months, with no signs of HIV re-emergence after close follow-up during COVID 19 pandemic—indicating a likely cure, although physicians at this stage prefer to call it long-term remission. She has also been leukemia-free for more than four years.

Two prior cases of long-term remission in HIV-positive cancer patients after adult CCR5Δ32 stem cell transplantation have been reported. This case is the first to use cord blood cells, and the first to treat a woman and someone who identifies as mixed-race. Since the CCR5Δ32 variant is much more common in people of European heritage, it is harder to find well-matched CCR5Δ32 donors for traditional stem cell transplants into nonwhite patients, although the use of cord blood partly alleviates this problem.

Stem cell transplant specialists Dr. Jingmei Hsu and Dr. Koen Van Besien and infectious disease specialist Dr. Marshall Glesby were the physician-scientists who led the NIH-funded clinical trial at Weill Cornell Medicine in collaboration with investigators at University of California Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and several other institutions.

The investigators concluded that cord blood containing the CCR5Δ32 variant offers a possible cure for both hematological malignancies and HIV and should be considered as a stem cell source when HIV-positive cancer patients need blood stem cell transplants. However, the procedure is considered too risky for HIV-positive patients who otherwise don’t need such transplants.

Many Weill Cornell Medicine physicians and scientists maintain relationships and collaborations with external organizations to foster scientific innovation and provide expert guidance. Weill Cornell Medicine and its faculty make this information available to the public to ensure transparency. External relationship information is available on the faculty profiles of Dr. Jingmei Hsu, Dr. Koen Van Besien, and Dr. Marshall Glesby.

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