title: Preterm neonates show marked leukopenia and lymphopenia that are associated with increased regulatory T-cell values and diminished IL-7.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current advances in neonatology have improved survival among preterm and low-birth-weight infants. However, the risk of neonatal death in preterm infants is much greater than in full-term neonates and is frequently associated with infections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Little is known about the immune status of preterm neonates; therefore, we analyzed the frequency and absolute counts of different immune populations in 211 cord blood samples taken from very-preterm to full-term neonates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that absolute counts of all the immune subsets analyzed (i.e., monocytes, granulocytes, B cells, natural killer (NK) cells, CD4(+), and CD8(+) T cells) were markedly lower in preterm infants than in full-term infants. Surprisingly, we observed that regulatory T cells (Tregs) were the only cell subset that did not decrease in preterm infants, and their frequency was even higher than in full-term infants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tregs are crucial to maternal-fetal tolerance, but their suppressive role could be also implicated in the leukopenia observed in preterm infants. We did not observe differences in thymic function, but we found that plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-7 and the frequency of its receptor were significantly decreased in preterm infants. Our results could help to identify leukopenia and to implement immune therapies that significantly diminish mortality in preterm neonates.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Inmunobiología Molecular, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Correa-Rocha
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lorente
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrando-Martínez
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leal
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gurbindo
authors.forename: M Ángeles
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Fernández
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000097:blood*; D007970:Leukopenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D008231:Lymphopenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015851:Interleukin-7