Methods and compositions for detecting rare cells from a biological sample

Abstract

The present invention provides methods and compositions for isolating and detecting rare cells from a biological sample containing other types of cells. In particular, the present invention includes a debulking step that uses a microfabricated filters for filtering fluid samples and the enriched rare cells can be used in a downstream process such as identifies, characterizes or even grown in culture or used in other ways. The invention also include a method of determining the aggressiveness of the tumor or of the number or proportion of cancer cells in the enriched sample by detecting the presence or amount of telomerase activity or telomerase nucleic acid or telomerase expression after enrichment of rare cells. This invention further provides an efficient and rapid method to specifically remove red blood cells as well as white blood cells from a biological sample.

1 . A method of enriching target cells in a sample, which method comprises:
 a) Removing white blood cells (WBCs) from a biological sample by allowing them to bind to a specific binding member affixed to a solid support;   b) Removing red blood cells (RBCs) from the sample with a density-based method, to produce a sample enriched in the target cell type; and   c) Performing an analysis, manipulation or application step with the sample enriched in the target cell type to determine the number or presence of target cells.   
     
     
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