title: T-cell subsets in healthy teenagers: transition to the adult phenotype.
abstract: Little is known about the normal range and variability of T-cell subsets in older children. We analyzed peripheral blood mononuclear cell subsets in 112 healthy children, ages 12-19 years (mean +/- SD: 15.4 +/- 1.9 years), using monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry. The study population included 28 blacks and 84 whites, with 59 boys and 53 girls. The mean +/- SD cell subset values were: CD3+ T cells, 74.0 +/- 7.8%; CD4+ helper-inducer T cells, 46.8 +/- 6.9%; CD8+ suppressor-cytotoxic T cells, 27.3 +/- 5.7%; CD4:CD8 helper:suppressor ratio, 1.81 +/- 0.57; CD16+ natural killer cells, 4.4 +/- 3.1%; CD19+ B cells, 10.0 +/- 5.3%; CD14+ monocytes, 20.0 +/- 6.5%; and HLA-DR cells, 15.4 +/- 4.8%. Overall, boys had a higher proportion of HLA-DR+ cells than girls, attributable to an increase in CD19+ B cells. Blacks tended to have a higher proportion of HLA-DR+ cells than whites, apparently due to an increase in activated T cells. Detailed analysis by age group revealed a striking transition in the pattern of CD4+ and CD8+ cell populations. The CD4:CD8 ratio, higher in boys than girls for ages 12-16, was reversed to the "adult" pattern in 17-19 year olds, with a higher CD4:CD8 ratio in girls. These data provide important baseline values for healthy children and stress the importance of establishing normative ranges for pediatric subjects separately from adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Tollerud
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Ildstad
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Blattner
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Neuland
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pankiw-Trost
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Hoover
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis; D044383:Black People; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte