title: T-cell homeostasis in pediatric multiple sclerosis: old cells in young patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) for early signs of homeostatic and functional abnormalities in conventional (Tcon) and regulatory T cells (Treg).
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied the composition of the peripheral T-cell compartment and Treg function in a cross-sectional study with 30 pediatric MS (pMS) patients by multicolor flow cytometry and proliferation assays. Data were compared to those obtained from adult patients (n = 26) and age-matched control donors (n = 67).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Proportions of naive T cells were 10%-20% higher in children than in adults, reflecting the age-related decline. pMS patients, however, had clearly lower numbers of naive T cells, among them recent thymic emigrants (RTE), whereas percentages of memory T cells were increased. In the Treg compartment, reduced RTE numbers coincided with markedly dampened suppressive capacities of total Treg. These homeostatic changes in circulating T cells precisely paralleled the pattern seen in adult MS. As in adults, treatment with immunomodulatory drugs attenuated these alterations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The homeostatic changes detected in the T-cell compartment in pMS are similar to those in adult-onset disease. With ratios between naive and memory T-cell subsets matching those of 20- to 30-years-older controls, signs of early thymic involution are already found in pMS, suggesting that an intrinsic compromise in thymic-dependent T-cell neogenesis might contribute to MS pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, DZL Junior Group "Airway Inflammation," Translational Lung Research Center, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Balint
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jarius
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fürwentsches
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Engelhardt
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bussmann
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ebinger
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fritzsching
authors.forename: Friedemann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Seidel
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vlaho
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huppke
authors.forename: Jutta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gärtner
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wildemann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000276:immunology; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007155:Immunologic Factors