Department of Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, FI-70701 Kuopio, Finland.
Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2009 Dec;20(8):714-25. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2009.00865.x. Epub 2009 Apr 21.
Little is known about the immunologic maturation in the early stages of life. The aim of this study was to investigate maturation of immune system from birth to 1 yr of age and to compare immune functions between mothers and their children. Also the effect of atopy to the immune responses of children was examined. Cord blood samples (n = 228) and peripheral blood samples of children (n = 200) and their mothers (n = 208) 1 yr after birth were collected. Whole blood samples were stimulated for 24 and 48 h with Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the combination of phorbol ester and ionomycin (P/I). Production of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-5, IL-8 and IL-10 was determined using ELISA. Significant mother-to-child correlation was detected in cytokine-producing capacity at the age of 1 yr. TNF-alpha (P/I, SEB and LPS stimulation), IFN-gamma (P/I and SEB), IL-5 (P/I and SEB) and IL-10 (P/I, SEB and LPS) producing capacity increased from birth to 1 yr of age. In general, stimulated cytokine responses were higher in mothers' than in children's blood samples, except in the case of P/I and LPS-stimulated IL-8, which were highest at birth. Maternal inhalation atopy was associated with increased cord blood IL-5 (24 and 48 h) and IL-10 (48 h) production following P/I stimulation. Also children of food atopic mothers expressed elevated cord blood IL-10 (48 h, P/I) responses and decreased IFN-gamma/IL-5 ratio (24 h, P/I). In addition, the production of IFN-gamma (24 and 48 h, P/I) and the IFN-gamma/IL-5 ratio (24 h and 48 h, P/I) at the age of 1 yr was lower among children with food atopic mothers. In conclusion, our results suggest that both adaptive and innate immune responses increase from birth to 1 yr of age, but are still weak in comparison to adult responses. Cytokine responses of children begin to correlate with those of their mothers during the first year of life. Although only few associations were observed between atopy and cytokine-producing capacity, our results suggest that children of atopic mothers express T(h)2-polarized cytokine pattern.
关于生命早期免疫系统的成熟，目前知之甚少。本研究旨在调查从出生到 1 岁时免疫系统的成熟情况，并比较母亲与其子女之间的免疫功能。此外，还研究了特应性对儿童免疫反应的影响。采集 228 例脐血样本、200 例儿童外周血样本和 208 例母亲外周血样本（均在出生后 1 年采集）。使用 SEB、LPS 和佛波醇酯和离子霉素（P/I）混合物刺激全血样本 24 和 48 小时。采用 ELISA 法测定 TNF-α、IFN-γ、IL-5、IL-8 和 IL-10 的产生。在 1 岁时，检测到细胞因子产生能力的显著母婴相关性。TNF-α（P/I、SEB 和 LPS 刺激）、IFN-γ（P/I 和 SEB）、IL-5（P/I 和 SEB）和 IL-10（P/I、SEB 和 LPS）的产生能力从出生到 1 岁逐渐增加。总的来说，与儿童血液样本相比，母亲血液样本的刺激细胞因子反应更高，除了 P/I 和 LPS 刺激的 IL-8 外，它们在出生时最高。母亲吸入性特应性与 P/I 刺激后脐血中 IL-5（24 和 48 小时）和 IL-10（48 小时）的产生增加有关。此外，食物特应性母亲的子女的脐血中 IL-10（48 小时，P/I）反应升高，IFN-γ/IL-5 比值降低（24 小时，P/I）。此外，1 岁时 IFN-γ（24 和 48 小时，P/I）和 IFN-γ/IL-5 比值（24 和 48 小时，P/I）的产生在食物特应性母亲的儿童中较低。总之，我们的研究结果表明，适应性和固有免疫反应均从出生到 1 岁逐渐增加，但与成人反应相比仍然较弱。儿童的细胞因子反应开始在生命的第一年与母亲的反应相关。尽管仅观察到特应性与细胞因子产生能力之间的少数关联，但我们的结果表明，特应性母亲的子女表达 Th2 极化的细胞因子模式。
