Objective: To explore immunologic function of T lymphocytes in human cord blood (HUCB) and provide theoretical basis for clinical application of HUCB.
Methods: Immunophenotype and co-stimulated molecules were detected by flow-cytometry using a panel of double labelled McAb, intracellular cytokines (interferon-gamma, interleukin-4) secreted by T lymphocytes by micro-culture of whole blood, and CD25 expression of T lymphocyte by PHA stimulation. T lymphocytes from adult peripheral blood (PB) were used as control.
Results: There are a higher CD4+/CD8+ ratio of T subset and a lower percentage of CD8+ lymphocytes in HUCB than that in adult PB (P < 0.01), and more than 90% of HUCB T-cells co-expressed CD45RA naive antigen which was significant higher than the percentage in adult PB (P < 0.01). The percentages of IFN-gamma and IL-4-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from HUCB were lower than that of the control group. T cells in HUCB were able to be activated by PHA, but the phases of activation differed from adult PB T cells.
Conclusions: It suggested that the low ability to secret cytokines and high percentage of naive T cells might be responsible for the decreased incidence of acute and chronic GVHD and provided possible explanation for the clinical result in HUCB transplantation. T cells in HUCB is a potential resource of adoptive immunotherapy.