Phenotypic changes of T-lymphocyte subsets induced by interleukin-12 and interleukin-15 in umbilical cord vs. adult peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
The decreased incidence of graft-vs.-host disease found following umbilical cord blood (CB) transplantation, and the increased susceptibility of newborns to infections, have been attributed, in part, to functional and phenotypic immaturity of neonatal T cells. We investigated the phenotypic changes of CB T cells induced by two immunoregulary cytokines, interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-15, alone or in combination. Adult peripheral blood (APB) mononuclear cells (MNCs) were also tested for comparison. Prior to culture, the percentages of CD3+ CD8+, CD3+ CD25+, and CD3+ CD56+ cells were significantly lower in CB MNCs than in APB MNCs. IL-15, but not IL-12, significantly increased CD3+ CD8+ expression among the CB MNCs after 1 week of culture. Combining IL-12 and IL-15, however, resulted in decreased CB CD3+ CD8+ expression compared with IL-15 alone. The percentage of CD3+ CD25+ cells in CB MNCs spontaneously increased in the absence of cytokines, while that of CD3+ CD56+ cells in CB MNCs could not be enhanced with cytokines. In contrast, the percentages of CD3+ CD25+ and CD3+ CD56+ cells among the APB MNCs could be increased with IL-12, IL-15, and further with IL-12 and IL-15 combined. Thus, different patterns of T-cell subset changes were demonstrated between CB MNCs and APB MNCs in response to IL-12 and/or IL-15. These data may serve as a foundation for using cytokine therapy in newborns and children receiving CB transplants.
Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan. sjlino@adm.cgmh.com.tw
S J
SJ
Lin
H C
HC
Chao
D C
DC
Yan
D000328:Adult; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000187:drug effects*; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects*; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000187:drug effects; D010641:Phenotype; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects*
D019409:Interleukin-15; D018664:Interleukin-12