Insulin-like growth factor I promotes cord blood T cell maturation through monocytes and inhibits their apoptosis in part through interleukin-6.
BMC Immunol 2008;
9:74. [PMID:
19091070 PMCID:
PMC2631546 DOI:
10.1186/1471-2172-9-74]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2008] [Accepted: 12/17/2008] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
The functional immaturity of T cells contributes to the susceptibility of neonates to infections and the less severe graft-versus-host disease associated with cord blood (CB) transplantation. We have previously reported that insulin-like growth factor – I (IGF-I) promotes the phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-induced CB T cell maturation and inhibits their apoptosis in mononuclear cell (MC) culture. We hypothesized that the effects of IGF-I may be mediated by accessory cells and soluble factors.
Results
This study showed that the kinetics of PHA-induced maturation in purified CD3+ T cell was delayed compared to that in CBMC. The addition of autologous CD14+ monocytes increased T cell maturation and potentiated the effect of IGF-I. The addition of IL-6 had no effect on CB T cell maturation but it reduced PHA-induced apoptosis significantly. We further demonstrated that the neutralisation of IL-6 in CBMC culture partially abrogated the anti-apoptotic effect of IGF-1 on T cells. The anti-apoptotic effect of IL-6 was not mediated via the reduction of Fas expression in T cell subsets.
Conclusion
Our results suggested that the maturation effect of IGF-1 is partially mediated by monocytes and the anti-apoptotic effect in part via IL-6. Further investigation is needed to explore the therapeutic use of IGF-I in enhancing neonatal immunity.
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