Mullick Shalini, Rusia Usha, Sikka Meera, Faridi M A
Department of Pathology, St John's Medical College, Bangalore, India.
Indian J Med Res. 2006 Dec;124(6):647-54.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: While there is evidence of an altered immune profile in iron deficiency, the precise immunoregulatory role of iron is not known. Information particular in children who are vulnerable to iron deficiency and infection, is lacking. We undertook this study with the aim of documenting the changes in T cell subsets in children in the age group of 1 to 5 yr with iron deficiency.
The levels of T lymphocytes, their CD4+ and CD8+ subsets and the CD4 : CD8 ratio were evaluated in 40 iron deficient and 30 healthy children. The impact of oral iron supplementation for three months on the same parameters was also noted in 30 children.
Significantly lower levels of T lymphocytes as well as CD4+ cells was observed in the iron deficient children (P<0.01 and 0.002 respectively). The CD4 : CD8 ratio was also significantly lower in this group (P<0.05). Iron supplementation improved the CD4 counts significantly.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated quantitatively altered T cell subsets in iron deficiency in children, and a relationship between the severity of haematological and immunological compromise. The clinical and epidemiological implications of this relationship have topical relevance since ID is the most common micronutrient deficiency worldwide.
虽然有证据表明缺铁时免疫谱会发生改变，但铁的确切免疫调节作用尚不清楚。尤其是在易患缺铁和感染的儿童中，相关信息匮乏。我们开展这项研究的目的是记录1至5岁缺铁儿童的T细胞亚群变化。
对40名缺铁儿童和30名健康儿童的T淋巴细胞水平、其CD4+和CD8+亚群以及CD4:CD8比值进行了评估。还记录了30名儿童口服补铁三个月对相同参数的影响。
缺铁儿童的T淋巴细胞以及CD4+细胞水平显著降低（分别为P<0.01和0.002）。该组的CD4:CD8比值也显著降低（P<0.05）。补铁显著提高了CD4计数。
我们的研究定量地证明了儿童缺铁时T细胞亚群发生改变，以及血液学和免疫功能损害严重程度之间的关系。由于缺铁是全球最常见的微量营养素缺乏症，这种关系的临床和流行病学意义具有现实相关性。
