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Age-dependent changes in the electrophoretic mobilities of human blood lymphocytes
Insights
Human lymphocyte electrophoretic mobility (EPM) distributions change with age, showing distinct patterns in infants versus adults. T cells generally exhibit higher EPM than B cells across all age groups.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Lymphocyte electrophoretic mobility (EPM) is a biophysical property reflecting cell surface charge.
- Understanding EPM variations is crucial for characterizing immune cell populations and their functions.
- Age-related changes in immune cell populations are well-documented, but their biophysical properties are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the age-dependent distribution of anodic electrophoretic mobilities (EPM) in human peripheral blood lymphocytes.
- To differentiate between low-mobility cells (LMCs) and high-mobility cells (HMCs) based on EPM.
- To investigate the EPM differences between T cells and B cells across various age groups.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes from individuals across a wide age range (birth to 93 years).
- Measurement of anodic electrophoretic mobilities (EPM) using established electrophoretic techniques.
- Analysis of EPM distributions using histograms and statistical methods to identify cell subpopulations.
Main Results:
- Lymphocyte EPM distribution was bimodal in infants (up to 2 years), with a distinct low-mobility cell (LMC) population that increased with age.
- Two types of LMCs were identified in infants.
- The distribution became unimodal and asymmetric in children and adults, and nearly Gaussian in aged individuals.
- T cells consistently showed higher EPM than B cells across all age groups.
- Minor variations in EPM were observed in adults over a 6-year period.
Conclusions:
- Lymphocyte EPM distribution exhibits significant age-dependent changes, suggesting developmental or functional alterations in lymphocyte populations.
- The established EPM threshold effectively discriminates between LMCs and HMCs, providing a quantitative marker.
- The consistent EPM difference between T and B cells highlights their distinct surface characteristics, irrespective of age.
- Lymphocyte EPM is a stable characteristic within individuals over time, with minimal variability.
Abstract:
The distribution of the anodic electrophoretic mobilities (EPM) of human peripheral blood lymphocytes was determined for lymphocytes isolated from umbilical cord blood and from blood of individuals 6 months to 93 years of age. The distribution was bimodal in infants up to 2 years of age and suggested a small percentage of cells with a mobility of 0.95 micrometer s-1 V-1 cm. this value was chosen to discriminate between low-mobility cells (LMCs) and high-mobility cells (HMCs). The relative percentage of LMCs increased from birth to 2 years and two types of LMCs could be distinguished. The distribution was unimodal and asymmetric in children and adults and nearly Gaussian in aged people. Substantial differences between the distributions of the lymphocyte EPMs were seen on comparison of the histograms for individuals of similar ages. The analysis of the distribution of the lymphocyte EPMs on cell suspensions enriched in, or depleted of T or B cells confirmed the mobility of most T cells to be higher than the mobility of most B cells, whatever the age of the individual. The distribution of lymphocyte EPMs determined in the same adult over a 6 year period showed minor variations.