Sağlıklı pediyatrik ve erişkin yaş gruplarında mitojenlerle uyarılmış lenfosit proliferasyon değerlerinin karşılaştırılması

The proliferation of antigen-specific lymphocyte clones, the initial step in acquired immunity, is important for effector functions of immune cells. Proliferation tests both in immunologic research and immune diagnosis are gaining attendance day by day, while utilization of adult healthy controls for comparison with pediatric patients is a question. This study aimed to investigate and compare mitogen-stimulated proliferation responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and T- and B-lymphocytes in adult and pediatric healthy donors. 19 pediatric and 20 adult healthy donors were enrolled in this study. PBMCs purified from fresh peripheral blood samples of the donors by ficoll gradient centrifugation method were stained with CFSE and were cultured in a 37℃ CO2 incubator for 120 hours with the absence and existence of polyclonal activators; PHA and CD-Mix. Following cell culture, PBMCs were stained with antibodies against CD4 and CD19, and proliferation percentages of CD4+ T cells and CD19+ B cells together with total PBMCs were determined by flow cytometry. The results of this study revealed the similarity between pediatric and adult age groups, with respect to responses of PBMCs, T- and B-cells to mitogen stimulation. The only difference observed was a significantly high proliferation of pediatric CD4+ T cells in response to PHA stimulation (p=0.012). Pediatric individuals were distributed into age groups of 0-2 years, 3-5 years and 6-18 years, and no difference of mitogen-triggered proliferative responses was observed among age groups. These findings propose the possibility of utilization of adult healthy controls as controls for pediatric patients. Key Words: Flow cytometry, proliferation, mitogen, lymphocyte, cell culture The present work was supported by the Research Fund of Istanbul University. Project No. 29901