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Matthew Bellew, Kevin Krouse, George Snelling, Adam Treister, Steven G. Self3, M. Juliana McElrath and Stephen C. De Rosa. Repository for Data and Analyses from Multiparameter Flow Cytometric Assays. 26th Annual Symposium for Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS, 2008.

Abstract

Intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) by multiparameter flow cytometry is one of the primary methods for determining T cell immunogenicity in trials of HIV candidate vaccines.  These assays can examine multiple cytokines, other functional markers, and markers that identify memory differentiation state.  As these sophisticated assays are becoming more routine and are being performed in multiple collaborating laboratories, the storage, sharing, and analysis of data are increasingly limited by current technologies.   LabKey Server is a general-purpose collaboration tool and repository for clinical and assay data.  A server solution provides a solution for organizing and sharing data for laboratory scientists and statisticians, while also enforcing security.  The LabKey Flow module provides specific support for uploading analyzed flow cytometry data.  Currently, all the compensation matrices, gates, and statistics calculated in FlowJo flow cytometric analysis software are imported.

LabKey Flow enables collecting results from an unlimited number of flow cytometry experiments for review online.  Additional data from multiple sources related to the specimens can be uploaded and linked to the flow analyses results.  Statistics and graphs can be reviewed by sample, by experiment, or by study.  The web interface allows for searching, filtering and display of selected data from across experiments and studies.  Data can be further analyzed using tools provided by the server, such as simple charts and queries.  In addition, selected data can be exported to external analysis tools such as R or Excel.  Providing access to the analyzed data on the server reduces the need to copy large files across the network, however, the system can also make the original fcs data files available for further investigations.  This system can help organize the large number of files and results generated by a flow lab engaged in clinical studies.