The Difference of Lymphocyte Subsets Including Regulatory T-Cells in Umbilical Cord Blood between AGA Neonates and SGA Neonates

Abstract

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Purpose:This study aimed to compare the regulatory T cells in cord blood of appropriate for gestational age (AGA) neonates with those of small for gestational age (SGA) neonates. Materials and Methods: Umbilical cord blood was collected upon labor in 108 healthy full-term (between 37 and 41 gestational weeks) neonates, who were born between November 2010 and April 2012. Among them, 77 samples were obtained from AGA neonates, and 31 samples were obtained from SGA neonates. Regulatory T cells and lymphocyte subsets were determined using a flow cytometer. Student's t-test for independent samples was used to compare differences between AGA and SGA neonates. Results: Regulatory T cells in cord blood were increased in the SGA group compared with normal controls (p=0.041). However, cytotoxic T cells in cord blood were significantly decreased in the SGA group compared with normal controls (p=0.007). Conclusion: This is the first study to compare the distribution of lymphocyte subsets including regulatory T cells in cord blood between AGA neonates and SGA neonates.

Comparison of the percentages of CD4+ CD25high FOXP3+, CD4+ CD25low FOXP3+, and CD4+ FOXP3+ Tregs, in the umbilical cord blood of babies born to mothers with and without preeclampsia

“…Regulatory T cells (Treg) are variant populations of lymphocytes which regulate the adaptive immune response. CD4 + Treg divides into natural (n Treg), which are thymus‐derived CD4 + CD25 + FOXP3 + T cells, and inducible (iTreg) (ie, Tr1 cells that secrete IL‐10, Th3 cells that secrete TGF‐β and IL‐10) . Treg cells play important role in maintenance of self‐tolerance and immune homeostasis; the idea of expansion of Treg pool in the peripheral circulation of pregnant women and at the fetal‐maternal interface is now well established …”