Comparative study on age-dependent development of surface receptors on peripheral blood lymphocytes in children and...

General conformity was found concerning age-dependent changes in the major subsets (CD4, CD8, CD2, CD20) and the adhesion molecules CD11a and CD29 on peripheral blood lymphocytes in children and young marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Differences exist in the expression of the surface receptors CD45RA and CD56. Taking the total number of white blood cells into account, an age-related increase in the absolute numbers of peripheral blood lymphocytes was found in marmosets whereas in children, an age-dependent decrease was observed. The definition of reference ranges for different stages of maturation in children and young marmosets may serve as a basis on which comparative risk assessment of possible effects on lymphocyte subsets after pre- or perinatal drug exposure can be estimated.