Abnormal increase or decrease of plasmablasts, commonly characterized as CD27+CD38hi and sometimes additionally as IgMlowCD24-, measured as percentage of total B cells in the blood, compared to a reference range for a given sex and age-group.
Comment:
Differentiation of B cells into plasmablasts (PB) is most commonly monitored with surface markers CD19, CD20, CD27, CD38, and CD138 and intracellular marker Ki-67. Plasmablasts are antibody-secreting cells that originate after infection or vaccination.