Rhythmic profile of memory T and B-cells along childhood and adolescence

Immunobiography describes the life-long effects of exogenous or endogenous stimuli on remodeling of immune cell biology, including the development of memory T and B-cells. The present study aimed at investigating the rhythms of changes in phenotypic features of memory T and B-cells along childhood and adolescence. A descriptive-observational investigation was conducted including 812 healthy volunteers, clustered into six consecutive age groups (9^Mths-1^Yr; 2^Yrs; 3-4^Yrs; 5-7^Yrs; 8-10^Yrs; 11-18^Yrs). Immunophenotypic analysis of memory T-cell (CD4⁺ and CD8⁺) and B-cell subsets were performed by flow cytometry. The results pointed out that memory-related biomarkers of T and B-cells displayed a bimodal profile along healthy childhood and adolescence, regardless of sex. The first stage of changes occurs around 2^Yrs, with predominance of naive cells, while the second and more prominent wave occurs around the age 8-10^Yrs, with the prevalence of memory phenotypes. The neighborhood connectivity profile analysis demonstrated that the number of correlations reaches a peak at 11-18^Yrs and lower values along the childhood. Males presented higher and conserved number of correlations when compared to females. Altogether, our results provide new insights into immunobiography and a better understanding of interactions among the cellular subsets studied here during childhood and adolescence.