Respective roles and interactions of T-lymphocyte and PGE2-mediated monocyte suppressive activities in human newborns and mothers at the time of delivery.
Recently the concept of a poorly functional humoral immune response in the newborn was proposed. Data have been presented indicating that the impaired newborn B cell maturation, as shown in vitro in a pokeweed mitogen-induced B cell maturation system, is due both to an immaturity of lymphocyte subsets and to an increased suppressive T activity. In the present work, we present evidence that there exists a predominance of a naturally occurring T lymphocyte suppressive activity in the cord blood in that the removal of the suppressive activity by irradiation allows a normal maturation of newborn B cells. Such normal maturation of newborn B cells can also be obtained using mixed cultures of adult T cells and newborn B cells. Newborn suppressor T cells belong to both EA gamma (+) and EA gamma (-) fractions, and it is not known whether these two groups do or do not belong to different subsets. The PGE2-dependent monocyte suppressive activity does not play any role in the suppression observed in newborns since newborn monocytes are poorly suppressive and since they produce a smaller amount of PGE2 than adult monocytes. Some observations suggest, on the contrary, that the suppressive T lymphocytes can regulate the level of the PGE2-dependent monocyte suppressive activity. It should be noticed that similar observations about T lymphocyte and PGE2-dependent monocyte suppressive activities have been made at the same time using mothers' cells. These observations suggest the possibility that such changes in B cell immune regulation may result from an interaction between maternal and fetal lymphoid cells.
D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002450:Cell Communication; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D015232:Dinoprostone; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007106:Immune Sera / Q000494:pharmacology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008211:Lymphocyte Cooperation; D009000:Monocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D011043:Pokeweed Mitogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011458:Prostaglandins E / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D012397:Rosette Formation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000528:radiation effects
D007106:Immune Sera; D011043:Pokeweed Mitogens; D011458:Prostaglandins E; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D015232:Dinoprostone