Background: In the United States, asthma prevalence is particularly high among urban children. Although the underlying immune mechanism contributing to asthma has not been identified, having impaired T regulatory (Treg) cells at birth may be a determining factor in urban children. The objective of this study was to compare Treg phenotype and function in cord blood (CB) of newborns to those in peripheral blood (PB) of a subset of participating mothers. Methods: Treg numbers, expression, and suppressive function were quantified in subjects recruited prenatally from neighborhoods where ≥ 20% of families have incomes below the poverty line. Proportion of Treg cells and expression of naïve (CD45RA) or activated (CD45RO, CD69, and HLA-DR) markers in CD4+T cells was measured by flow cytometry. Treg suppressive capacity was determined by quantifying PHA-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation in mononuclear cell samples with and without CD25 depletion. Results: In an urban cohort of 119 newborns and 82 mothers, we found that newborns had similar number of cells expressing FOXP3 as compared to the mothers but had reduced numbers of CD4+CD25+bright cells that predominantly expressed the naïve (CD45RA) rather than the activated/memory (CD45RO) phenotype found in the mothers. Additionally, the newborns had reduced mononuclear cell TGF-β production, and reduced Treg suppression of PHA-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation compared to the mothers. Conclusion: U.S. urban newborns have Treg cells that express FOXP3, albeit with an immature phenotype and function as compared to the mothers. Longitudinal follow-up is needed to delineate Treg cell maturation and subsequent risk for atopic diseases in this urban birth cohort. © 2009 Ly et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
CITATION STYLE
Ly, N. P., Ruiz-Perez, B., McLoughlin, R. M., Visness, C. M., Wallace, P. K., Cruikshank, W. W., … Gern, J. E. (2009). Characterization of regulatory T cells in urban newborns. Clinical and Molecular Allergy, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-7961-7-8
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