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Ontogeny of IL4 production
Author(s) -
Tang Mimi L. K.,
Kemp Andrew S.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
pediatric allergy and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.269
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1399-3038
pISSN - 0905-6157
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3038.1995.tb00251.x
Subject(s) - ontogeny , interleukin 4 , medicine , stimulation , cord blood , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , immunology , endocrinology , cytokine , biology , in vitro , genetics
There is evidence to suggest that the production of some cytokines in childhood is different to that in adults. The production of IL4 in PHA‐stimulated PBMC cultures was examined in healthy neonates, children and adults to determine the ontogeny of IL4 production throughout childhood. In vitro IL4 production was found to be significantly reduced in neonates and children under 10 years of age as compared to adults, and to increase progressively with age. The mechanisms leading to reduced IL4 production in neonates were shown to be different to those in children, with a defect in signal transduction demonstrated for lymphocytes from neonates but not children < 10 years. The presence of an inhibitory factor in cord blood plasma was also noted. These age‐dependent variations in IL4 production and response to stimulation with PMA/Ca may reflect differences in naive and memory T cell populations.;