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Paediatric Reference Values for the Peripheral T cell Compartment
Author(s) -
Schatorjé E. J. H.,
Gemen E. F. A.,
Driessen G. J. A.,
Leuvenink J.,
van Hout R. W. N. M.,
de Vries E.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2012.02671.x
Subject(s) - immunophenotyping , immunology , lymphocyte , lymphocyte subsets , cytotoxic t cell , biology , t lymphocyte , medicine , t cell , flow cytometry , immune system , genetics , in vitro
Immunophenotyping of blood lymphocyte subpopulations is an important tool in the diagnosis of immunological and haematological diseases. Paediatric age‐matched reference values have been determined for the major lymphocyte populations, but reliable reference values for the more recently described T lymphocyte subpopulations, like different types of memory T lymphocytes, recent thymic emigrants, regulatory T cells and CXCR5 + helper T lymphocytes, are not sufficiently available yet. We determined reference values for the absolute and relative sizes of T lymphocyte subpopulations in healthy children using the lysed whole blood method, which is most often used in diagnostic procedures. When the absolute numbers of some or all T lymphocyte subpopulations fall outside these reference ranges, this may indicate disease. The reference values show the course of T lymphocyte development in healthy children. Absolute T lymphocyte numbers increase 1.4‐fold during the first months of life, and after 9–15 months, they decrease threefold to adult values; this is mainly caused by the expansion of recent thymic emigrants and naive cells. Helper and cytotoxic T lymphocytes show the same pattern. Regulatory T cells increase in the first 5 months of life and then gradually decrease to adult values, although the absolute numbers remain small. The relative number of CXCR5 + cells within the CD4 + CD45RO + T lymphocytes increases during the first 6 months of life and then remains more or less stable around 20%.