Related Experiment Videos
Evaluation of the age-dependent development of lymphocyte surface receptors in children
R Neubert1, I Delgado, K Abraham
1Children's Hospital, Kaiserin Auguste Victoria Haus, Berlin, Germany.
Insights
Immune system cells develop throughout childhood and adolescence. Surface receptor expression on T cells increases with age, indicating immune system maturation during postnatal development.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Developmental Biology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Immune system components and functions evolve throughout postnatal development, complicating assessments of pediatric immune health.
- Establishing age-specific reference ranges for immunological variables is crucial for evaluating pathological alterations and environmental chemical risks in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related changes in surface receptors on peripheral white blood cells in children.
- To characterize the developmental trajectory of adhesion receptors on T cell subpopulations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of peripheral blood samples from 82 children aged 2 months to 17 years.
- Triple labeling with monoclonal antibodies, whole blood lysis, and flow cytometry.
- Complex statistical analyses to establish probability ranges for immunological variables.
Main Results:
- Significant age-dependent changes in surface receptor expression on CD4+ helper and CD8+ suppressor/cytotoxic T cells were observed.
- A notable increase in high epitope density expression of integrins on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was documented.
- Maximal adhesion receptor expression levels varied by T cell subpopulation and age.
Conclusions:
- Adhesion molecules on T cells, essential for cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, are largely acquired during postnatal development.
- The findings provide insights into normal immune system maturation in children and adolescents.
- These results contribute to establishing normative data for immunological assessments in pediatric populations.
Abstract:
Components and functions of the immune system change during postnatal development, not only in the first years of life, but well through adolescence and even into adult life. These age-dependent changes within the immune system greatly complicate any attempt to assess pathological alterations of immunologic variables in children. The need for studies on possible substance-induced changes, including risk assessment of environmental chemicals, has increased the necessity to establish reference ranges for certain immunologic variables against which an abnormal developmental status can be evaluated. In the present study age-related changes of surface receptors on peripheral white blood cells were studied in 82 children, aged between 2 months and 17 years. The blood samples were triple labeled with monoclonal antibodies followed by a whole blood lysis technique and were subsequently analyzed by flow cytometry. Complex statistical analyses were performed in order to determine probability ranges for some immunological variables. In this paper we describe the age-dependent development of components involved in major maturational processes, including the appearance and varying expression of adhesion receptors (CD11a, CD18, CD28, CD29, CD44, CD49d and CD54) on CD4+ "helper" cells and CD8+ "suppressor and cytotoxic" cells. A clear-cut increase of high epitope density expression of the integrins on both CD4+ and CD8+ cells was noted. These results suggest that the components of immune T cells for performing adhesion by interacting with other cells and many matrix components are largely acquired during postnatal development. Maximal levels of adhesion receptor expression are reached at different ages depending on the specific T cell subpopulation.