Abstract LB050: Whole-blood preservation with BD®OMICS-Guard Sample Preservation Buffer can provide significant improvement to single cell workflows by maintaining cell integrity, transcription and protein profiles for up to 72 hours
Authors: Cynthia Sakofsky, Manish Thakran, Samuel Shi, Hye-Won Song, Zhiqi Zhang, Aruna Ayer
Journal: Cancer Research (2025)

Abstract Characterization of whole-blood can provide abundant knowledge and insight into an individual’s health and immunological status through the evaluation of cell composition and cell states making it vital to both clinical and research-only studies. Standard collection of whole-blood generally follows a routine procedure, however downstream handling and manipulation can vary and inherently challenge the integrity of the blood specimen. Cell degradation, undesired cell activation, and changes in the proteome or transcriptome are some of the outcomes that can result after collection thereby contorting the true biology of the blood-borne cells. Therefore, the preservation of whole-blood remains critical to the fidelity of an experiment and can also provide the needed flexibility to carry-out a successful study. Here, we show the application of BD® OMICS-Guard Sample Preservation Buffer, which does not contain any traditional cross-linking or harsh fixatives, to preserve whole-blood for up to 72-hours. Red blood cells and platelets were depleted from fresh whole-blood, or blood preserved for 24, 48 and 72 hours at 4 oC prior to downstream assays, from which PBMCs and granulocytes remained. For flow cytometry, panels were used to stain various cell populations to evaluate the preservation of cell-surface epitopes. Single-cell multiomic studies were also completed, evaluating the whole transcriptome (WTA), cell-surface protein expression using oligo-antibodies and full-length B-cell receptor (BCR) and T-cell receptor (TCR) profiles. Our data show that the cell type distribution within PBMCs and granulocytes remained similar in preserved whole-blood as compared to fresh for both flow cytometry and single-cell assays. The number of transcripts and genes per cell from WTA data were also very similar between fresh and preserved blood. Regression plots further show high R2 coefficient values for WTA gene expression as well as protein expression between preserved and fresh whole-blood. Specifically for protein expression, there is high specificality and low off-target detection in preserved blood-derived cells. Finally, full-length BCR and TCR assays show only a modest drop in pairing efficiency for cells from preserved whole-blood versus fresh. Together, the data demonstrate the compatibility of the BD® OMICS-Guard Buffer to effectively preserve whole-blood, providing a solution for more reliable data, while enhancing the flexibility of study designs. For Research-Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. BD and the BD-Logo are trademarks of Becton, Dickinson and Company. © 2024 BD. All rights reserved. NPM-5005 (v1.0) 1024 Citation Format: Cynthia Sakofsky, Manish Thakran, Samuel Shi, Hye-Won Song, Zhiqi Zhang, Aruna Ayer. Whole-blood preservation with BD®OMICS-Guard Sample Preservation Buffer can provide significant improvement to single cell workflows by maintaining cell integrity, transcription and protein profiles for up to 72 hours [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_2):Abstract nr LB050.