title: Functional assessment of CD2, CD3 and CD28 on the surface of peripheral blood T-cells from infants at low versus high genetic risk for atopy.
abstract: Recent studies from several laboratories suggest that the rate of postnatal maturation of T-cell function(s) associated with in vitro activation may be slower in children at high genetic risk for atopy (HR), compared to their normal (low risk; LR) counterparts. The present study compared the in vitro activity of the function-associated surface molecules CD2, CD3 and CD28 in panels of 27 HR and 13 LR infants, with a reference panel of 10 adults, employing assay systems involving T-cell stimulation with MoAbs against these molecules. The response maxima induced by saturating levels of the MoAbs were equivalent in all 3 groups, but T-cells from the HR infants required 10-50 fold higher levels of anti-CD3 stimulation to attain their maximum response, relative to adults (p = 0.02); T-cells from LR infants were also less responsive to anti-CD3 than adults, but these differences were smaller and did not attain statistical significance. It is suggested that these differences are attributable to varying proportions of competent T-memory cells (which respond to low levels of anti-CD3) in PBL from these populations, the postnatal accumulation of which proceeds slowest in the HR group.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Child Health Research, West Perth, Western Australia.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Somerville
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Baron-Hay
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Sly
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018801:CD2 Antigens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D018106:CD28 Antigens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D017260:Receptor-CD3 Complex, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018801:CD2 Antigens; D018106:CD28 Antigens; D017252:CD3 Complex; D017260:Receptor-CD3 Complex, Antigen, T-Cell