Plasma soluble CD30 level correlates negatively with age in children.
OBJECTIVE
Atopic diseases are thought to be associated with cytokine-mediated immune dysregulation, for example, a T helper cell type 1/2 (Th1/Th2) imbalance. CD30 is proposed to be one of the surrogate markers for Th2 immunity. In this study, we investigated whether CD30 is a good marker for atopy and Th2 predominance in a pediatric population.


METHODS
This study included 61 children with atopy and 27 normal controls. The expression of CD30 on the surface of T and B lymphocytes and soluble CD30 (sCD30) in plasma was determined.


RESULTS
There was no difference in the surface expression of CD30 on B or T lymphocytes. Similarly, sCD30 levels in plasma were not different between the 2 groups. Nevertheless, we found a strong negative correlation between sCD30 and age in the control group (r = -0.72, p<0.001; sCD30 = 76.1 - 5.18 x age) as well as in the atopy group (r = -0.45, p<0.01; sCD30 = 61.1 - 3.56 x age).


CONCLUSIONS
An inverse relationship was found between age and sCD30 level in children. However, our findings suggest that CD30 is not a good marker for atopic disease and that further studies on sCD30 levels must take age into consideration.
Chen
Jung Yu
JY
Division of Immunology, Rheumatology and Allergy, Department of Pediatrics, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Fu
Lin Shien
LS
Chu
Jao Jia
JJ
Chen
Hou Chuan
HC
Chi
Chin Shiang
CS
D000375:Aging; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000276:immunology*; D017730:Ki-1 Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry
D017730:Ki-1 Antigen