Cord blood B cells are mature in their capacity to switch to IgE-producing cells in response to interleukin-4 in vitro

Clinical and Experimental Immunology
G PastorelliJ E de Vries

Abstract

Neonatal B cells have been considered immature because of their impaired capacity to produce immunoglobulins in response to polyclonal activators in vitro. Here we demonstrate that cord blood mononuclear cells (MNC) produce normal levels of IgE in vitro when cultured in the presence of interleukin-4 (IL-4), indicating that the B cells are mature in their capacity to switch to IgE-producing cells. However, in contrast to adult peripheral blood T cells, cord blood T cells failed to produce detectable levels of IL-4 upon activation by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) concanavalin A (Con A) or combinations of PHA and the phorbol ester TPA. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production by cord blood T cells following activation by Con A or PHA was also strongly reduced. However, high levels of IFN-gamma, significantly higher than those produced by adult T cells, were synthesized in response to combinations of PHA and TPA, indicating that IFN-gamma production by cord blood T cells is not intrinsically defective. In contrast, cord blood T cells produced levels of IL-2 that were significantly higher than those obtained by adult T cells tested in parallel. Collectively, our data indicate that the minimal levels of IgE production measured in cord blo...Continue Reading

References

Sep 22, 1977·Nature·M B OldstoneL Moretta
Sep 1, 1976·Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology·C GranbergP Toivanen
Jul 1, 1989·European Journal of Immunology·M LundgrenE Severinson
Sep 1, 1988·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·J PèneJ Banchereau
Sep 1, 1988·The Journal of Experimental Medicine·D A Lebman, R L Coffman
Dec 1, 1988·The Journal of Experimental Medicine·P RothmanF W Alt
Sep 15, 1980·Cellular Immunology·Y J BrysonE R Stiehm
Aug 1, 1980·The Journal of Clinical Investigation·G TosatoR M Blaese
Apr 1, 1980·Cellular Immunology·C Granberg, T Hirvonen

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jan 1, 1992·DNA Sequence : the Journal of DNA Sequencing and Mapping·C R Engwerda, R M Sandeman
Jan 1, 1994·Clinical and Experimental Immunology·K B IslamC I Smith
Aug 13, 2011·Beneficial Microbes·R MartinJ Garssen
Aug 1, 2002·Pediatric Research·Catherine A ThorntonJohn O Warner
May 1, 1992·European Journal of Immunology·T Van der Pouw-KraanL Aarden
Mar 4, 2000·Allergy·C A JonesJ O Warner
Jun 2, 2020·Frontiers in Immunology·Angelina MimounSébastien Lacroix-Desmazes

❮ Previous
Next ❯