Neonatal mononuclear cell metabolism: further evidence for diminished monocyte function in the neonate

The metabolic capacity of neonatal monocytes was compared to the metabolic capacity of adult monocytes by two entirely different methods: the selective diminution of monocyte contamination of whole mononuclear cells and the isolation of relatively purified populations of monocytes. Monocyte removal from whole mononuclear cells produced a diminution in the pyruvate kinase (PK) activity (from 28.6 +/- 1.1 to 15.6 +/- 1.2 nmoles/min/10(7) cells) and an increase in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content (from 7.9 +/- 1.0 to 9.5 +/- 0.8 nmoles/10(7) cells) in adult cells. No change in PK activity (from 13.5 +/- 1.3 to 14.0 +/- 1.3) was observed in cord cells, but the ATP content of cord cells was higher after monocytes depletion (from 4.7 +/- 0.5 to 6.2 +- 0.7). The suggestion of metabolic vulnerability was confirmed by metabolic analysis of isolated adult and cord monocytes. The PK activity of adult monocytes was greater than that of cord monocytes (57 +/- 9 and 25 +/- 0.3, respectively) and the ATP content of adult monocytes (5.7 +/- 0.2) was greater than that of cord monocytes (2.3 +/- 0.1). The data confirm prior observations of diminished energy metabolism in neonatal mononucler cells and suggest that the metabolic perturbations may, in part, correlate with functional immaturity of the neonatal monocyte.