title: Age- and gender-related differences in circulating natural killer T cells and their subset levels in healthy Korean adults.
abstract: Natural killer T (NKT) cells have been reported to play crucial roles in a variety of diseases, including infectious diseases, autoimmunity, and cancers. Previous studies have reported wide age- and/or sex-related variations in circulating NKT cell levels in healthy subjects, but reported results are discrepant. In this study, the authors examined NKT cell levels in the peripheral blood of healthy Korean subjects and investigated potential relationships between clinical parameters and NKT cells and their subset levels. One hundred and thirty-eight age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. NKT cell and NKT subset levels were measured by flow cytometry. Circulating NKT cell levels were found to vary widely (0.01-5.15%) in the study subjects and to be lower in men than in women (P<0.05). Notably, gender-related differences in NKT cell levels were more prominent in elderly subjects (P<0.05). Furthermore, alterations in NKT subset compositions were found in elderly men, in whom the proportion of CD4+ NKT cells was elevated and that of double-negative NKT cells was reduced. Our data suggest that circulating NKT cells and NKT subset levels are affected by age and gender in the Korean population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kee
authors.forename: Yong-Wook
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Young-Nan
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Hye-Mi
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Moon-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung-Ji
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tae-Jong
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Shin-Seok
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yong-Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Hee-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Nacksung
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Myung-Geun
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jong-Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Soon-Pal
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Dong-Wook
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Ryang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult