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Functional immaturity of cord blood monocytes as detected by impaired response to hepatocyte growth factor
Author(s) -
Jiang Qi,
Azuma Eiichi,
Hirayama Masahiro,
Iwamoto Shotaro,
Kumamoto Tadashi,
Kobayashi Michihiro,
Yamamoto Hatsumi,
Sakurai Minoru,
Komada Yoshihiro
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1046/j.1442-200x.2001.01420.x
Subject(s) - hepatocyte growth factor , cord blood , medicine , monocyte , immunology , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , receptor , biology , in vitro , biochemistry
Background: Monocytes as antigen‐presenting cells play an important role in host defense and transplantation. However, there are little reports on cord blood monocytes, and the role of monocytes in cord blood transplantation is largely unknown.Methods and Results: There are several cytokines affecting monocyte function. These include interferon‐γ, interleukin‐4, interleukin‐10, granulocyte macrophage‐colony stimulating factor and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). We investigated the effect of these cytokines on antigen‐presenting capacity (APC) of cord and adult blood monocytes. Using either mononuclear cells or purified CD4 + T cells as responder cells, HGF enhanced APC of adult monocytes most effectively among these cytokines. In contrast, cord blood monocytes failed to respond to HGF. As HLA, costimulatory and adhesion molecules may affect APC function, we examined these antigens of monocytes following HGF stimulation. The HGF upregulated integrin α5 subunit (CD49e) and intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (CD54) was expressed in adult blood monocytes, but not in cord blood. In kinetic studies, HGF downregulated c‐met protein/HGF receptor expression of adult monocytes in lower concentrations and at shorter incubation time as compared with that of cord blood.Conclusions: The results suggest that impaired response of cord blood monocytes to HGF may be responsible, in large part, for their functional immaturity.