Measurement of canine blood microparticles by flow cytometry: effect of anticoagulants and staining reagents

Microparticles (MPs) are released from budding plasma membranes into body fluids. The use of flow cytometry for the measurement of MP in canines has not been standardized. In this fundamental study, we compared the effect of anticoagulant agents, such as acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD) and heparin on the measurement of canine MPs in platelet-free plasma (PFP) using flow cytometry. In addition, we used annexin V, carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE), or calcein tetraacetoxymethyl ester (calcein-AM), and explored the characteristics of the staining reagents in MP detection using flow cytometry. We were able to measure canine MPs in PFP prepared from ACD-anticoagulated blood using flow cytometry, in which the highest positive rate for fluorescent staining was observed when CFSE was used.