T cell receptor excision circles as a tool for evaluating thymic function in young children
Braz. j. med. biol. res
;
52(7): e8292, 2019. tab, graf
Artigo
em Inglês
| LILACS
| ID: biblio-1011589
ABSTRACT
The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ responsible for the maturation of T cells as well as the immunological central tolerance. It is in the antenatal period and infancy that it plays its major role. In clinical practice, T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) are considered a direct and reliable measure of the thymic function. TRECs are a by-product of DNA formation in gene rearrangement of T cell receptors. They are stable and they do not duplicate during mitosis, representing the recent emigrant T cells from the thymus. Despite their importance, TRECs have been neglected by physicians and there is a lack of data regarding thymic function during infancy of healthy children. In order to evaluate thymic function in the first years of life, we propose measuring TRECs as a valuable tool. One hundred and three blood samples from children and adolescents between 3 months and 20 years of age were analyzed. The mean TRECs count was 136.77±96.7 copies of TRECs/μL of DNA. The individuals between 0 and 5 years of age had significantly higher TRECs values than those between 10 and 20 years of age. No significant difference was observed in TRECs values among age groups below 5 years of age. An inverse correlation between TRECs and age was found (r=0.3 P=0.003). These data highlight and validate the evidence of decreased thymus function with age, even during infancy. Awareness should be raised with this important albeit ignored organ.
Texto completo:
DisponíveL
Índice:
LILACS (Américas)
Assunto principal:
Timo
/
Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos T
Limite:
Adolescente
/
Criança
/
Criança, pré-escolar
/
Humanos
/
Lactente
Idioma:
Inglês
Revista:
Braz. j. med. biol. res
Assunto da revista:
Biologia
/
Medicina
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Artigo
País de afiliação:
Brasil
Instituição/País de afiliação:
Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP)/BR
/
Universidade de São Paulo/BR
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