Neonates are relatively immature in their immune response; thus, to further clarify the differences of monocyte function and differentiation between neonates and adults, we investigated their CD14 ϩ CD4 ϩ and CD14 ϩ CD16 ϩ monocyte subpopulations, production of IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor-␣ induced by lipopolysaccharide, and their CD14 and CD1a phenotypic changes in response to IL-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Our results showed that 1) the expression of CD14 in cord blood monocytes was significantly lower than that in adult peripheral blood monocytes; 2) both the percentages of CD14 ϩ CD4 ϩ cells and CD14 ϩ CD16 ϩ cells among CD14 ϩ monocytes were also significantly lower in cord blood; 3) after stimulation by lipopolysaccharide for 72 h, production of both IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor-␣ was lower in cord blood than that in adult peripheral blood; and 4) in response to IL-4 or GM-CSF, the phenotype development of CD14 and CD1a in cord blood and adult peripheral blood was different. Downregulation of CD14 expression in response to IL-4 and GM-CSF was slower in cord blood monocytes than that in adult peripheral blood monocytes. After 9 d of culture in the presence of IL-4 and GM-CSF, the percentage of CD1a ϩ monocytes was significantly more increased in cord blood than that in adult peripheral blood. The reduced expression of CD14 and other mature phenotype markers such as CD16 and CD4 as well as the reduced IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor-␣ production may contribute to the impaired immune response of neonates. Slower down-regulation of CD14 by IL-4 and GM-CSF suggests that differential properties of cord blood monocytes in response to cellular stress signals take a longer time than those of adult peripheral blood monocytes. The monocyte plays an important role in host immunity. CD14, a glycoprotein of 55 kD present on most monocytes and tissue macrophages, is regarded as the most important myeloid differentiation antigen (1, 2). Functionally, CD14 acts as a receptor for the complex of LPS and LPS-binding protein (3), and mediates the response to LPS, such as the LPS-induced production of the cytokines TNF-␣, 4). The apoptosis of monocytes is associated with the down-regulation of CD14 expression (5), and CD14 is also a major receptor on phagocytes, which are involved in uptake of apoptotic cells (6). The expression of CD14 on PBMC is increased by LPS (7, 8) and decreased by IL-4 and GM-CSF (9 -11). In vitro, with CD14 down-regulation in response to IL-4 and GM-CSF, CD14ϩ monocytes can differentiate into cells displaying features of immature DC, which express CD1a (12).The heterogeneity of human PBMC in terms of size, function, and antigen expression has been reported (13,14). About 10% of the CD14 ϩ monocytes in peripheral blood express CD16, which is an Fc␥3 receptor (14, 15). The CD14 ϩ CD16 ϩ population represents more-mature monocytes and has higher antigen-presenting ability but lower phagocytic activity (16). Another antigen, CD4, is also expressed on a subpopulation of mon...