title: Developmental changes of double-negative (CD3+ 4-8-) T cells in human peripheral blood.
abstract: The frequency of double-negative (CD3+4-8-) T cells in the circulating pool was examined for different age groups. Adult peripheral blood contained a substantial but variable proportion of double-negative T cells. Double-negative T cells in adult peripheral blood were shown to lack the alpha/beta heterodimers of the T cell antigen receptor (TCR alpha/beta) but express the gamma chain of the TCR (TCR gamma), when examined using the corresponding monoclonal antibodies. In contrast to adult blood, double-negative, TCR alpha/beta-negative, and TCR gamma-positive T cells were very scarcely demonstrated in the cord blood of newborn infants. It was found that the percentages of double-negative T cells correlated very well with those of TCR alpha/beta negative T cells. These double-negative T cells in the peripheral blood gradually increased with advancing age and reached in frequency the adult level around one year of age. The results suggested that double-negative T cells expressing the TCR gamma/delta might play an ontogenically unique role in the development of the T cell functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yachie
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyawaki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000032:analysis; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000032:analysis / Q000145:classification*
chemical_list: D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta