Department of Immunology and Immunotoxicology, Bratislava, Slovakia.
J Immunotoxicol. 2011 Oct-Dec;8(4):333-45. doi: 10.3109/1547691X.2011.615767. Epub 2011 Oct 20.
Immune system development, particularly in the pre-natal and early post-natal periods, has far-reaching health consequences during childhood, as well as throughout life. Exposure to poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) during pre-natal and early life has been previously associated with changes in the incidence of infectious and allergic diseases in children, and humoral immunity alterations. Lymphocyte immunophenotyping is an important tool in the diagnosis of immunologic and hematologic disorders. This study used a lysed whole blood method for analysis of lymphocyte sub-populations in samples from children born and living in two districts: a highly-contaminated area (Michalovce) and one (Svidnik/Stropkov) with ≈ 2-fold lower environmental PCB levels. The percentages of B-lymphocytes (CD19(+)), activated HLADR(+)CD19(+) cells, and CD8(+) T-lymphocytes significantly increased at 6- and 16-months-of-age in both selected regions as compared to in cord blood values (p < 0.001). Levels of CD3(+) cells increased significantly (from 61 to 65%) in samples from Michalovce (p < 0.01). Levels of CD4(+) T-lymphocytes declined 10% among 16-month-olds in both regions (Michalovce at p < 0.001 and Svidnik/Stropkov at p < 0.01). Natural killer (NK) cell levels decreased 50% in Michalovce 6- and 16-month-old children and 42% among 6-month-olds in Svidnik/Stropkov (p < 0.001). Compared with the less-contaminated region, Michalovce samples showed significantly higher expression of CD3(+) T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, and activated B-lymphocytes, whereas NK cells were less expressed. Even after adjustment for selected covariates, e.g., maternal cigarette smoking, age, parity, ethnicity, birth weight, and gender of infant, the levels of CD19(+), HLADR(+)CD19(+), and CD3(-)CD(16 + 56)(+) cells were seen to remain significantly different between the districts. These results showed that early-life environmental PCB exposure was associated with fluctuations in major lymphocyte subsets in children, suggesting that there is a post-natal immune system response to PCB exposures.
免疫系统的发育，特别是在产前和产后早期，对儿童期乃至整个生命周期的健康都有着深远的影响。先前的研究表明，产前和生命早期接触多氯联苯（PCBs）会导致儿童传染病和过敏性疾病的发病率以及体液免疫改变。淋巴细胞免疫表型分析是诊断免疫和血液系统疾病的重要工具。本研究采用裂解全血法分析了来自两个地区（米哈洛夫采市和什维德尼克/斯特罗普科夫市）的儿童样本中的淋巴细胞亚群。这两个地区的环境 PCB 水平约低 2 倍。与脐带血值相比，6 至 16 月龄时，两个选定地区的 B 淋巴细胞（CD19(+)）、活化的 HLA-DR(+)CD19(+)细胞和 CD8(+)T 淋巴细胞的百分比均显著增加（p<0.001）。米哈洛夫采市的 CD3(+)细胞水平（从 61%升至 65%）显著增加（p<0.01）。两个地区 16 月龄儿童的 CD4(+)T 淋巴细胞水平均下降 10%（米哈洛夫采市 p<0.001，什维德尼克/斯特罗普科夫市 p<0.01）。6 至 16 月龄米哈洛夫采市儿童的自然杀伤（NK）细胞水平下降 50%，什维德尼克/斯特罗普科夫市 6 月龄儿童的 NK 细胞水平下降 42%（p<0.001）。与污染较少的地区相比，米哈洛夫采市样本的 CD3(+)T 淋巴细胞、B 淋巴细胞和活化的 B 淋巴细胞表达水平显著升高，而 NK 细胞表达水平较低。即使在调整了选定的协变量（例如，母亲吸烟、年龄、产次、种族、出生体重和婴儿性别）后，CD19(+)、HLA-DR(+)CD19(+)和 CD3(-)CD(16 + 56)(+)细胞的水平在两个地区之间仍存在显著差异。这些结果表明，生命早期环境 PCB 暴露与儿童主要淋巴细胞亚群的波动有关，提示存在针对 PCB 暴露的产后免疫系统反应。
