Refined characterization and reference values of the pediatric T- and B-cell compartments

• Published in: Clinical immunology (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 133; no. 1; pp. 95 - 107
• Main Authors: van Gent, R., van Tilburg, C.M., Nibbelke, E.E., Otto, S.A., Gaiser, J.F., Janssens-Korpela, P.L., Sanders, E.A.M., Borghans, J.A.M., Wulffraat, N.M., Bierings, M.B., Bloem, A.C., Tesselaar, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.10.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Allergy and Immunology; B cells; B-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Cohort Studies; Establishment; Fetal Blood - immunology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; Humans; Immune System Diseases - blood; Immunological methods for diagnosis and exploration; Immunopathology; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Lymphocyte Count; Lymphocytes; Medical sciences; Reference Values; T cells; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; B cells; Children; Establishment; T cells; Lymphocytes; Reference values; Human; Cell compartment; Pediatrics; Reference value; Healthy subject; B-Lymphocyte; Characterization; Immunological investigation; Cohort study; Adolescent; T-Lymphocyte; Child; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 1521-6616; 1521-7035; 1521-7035
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2009.05.020

Work in the past years has led to a refined phenotypical description of functionally distinct T- and B-cell subsets. Since both lymphocyte compartments are established and undergo dramatic changes during childhood, redefined pediatric reference values of both compartments are needed. In a cohort of 145 healthy children, aged 0–18 years, the relative and absolute numbers of the various T- and B-cell subsets were determined. In addition, we found that besides thymic output, naive (CD27 +CD45RO −) T-cell proliferation contributed significantly to the establishment of the naive T-cell compartment. At birth, regulatory (CD25 +CD127 −CD4 +) T cells (Tregs) mainly had a naive (CD27 +CD45RO −) phenotype whereas ‘memory or effector-like’ (CD45RO +) Tregs accumulated slowly during childhood. Besides the CD27 +IgM +IgD + memory B-cell population, the recently identified CD27 −IgG + and CD27 −IgA + memory B-cell populations were already present at birth. These data provide reference values of the T- and B-cell compartments during childhood for studies of immunological disorders or immune reconstitution in children.