Abstract
The aim of the present study was the development of a reliable method to evaluate the pattern of the ongoing T-cell response in young infants affected by respiratory infection. To this purpose, we enrolled 44 infants hospitalized with a diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis. After a short-term stimulation of whole blood samples, intracellular IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokines were measured in CD4 + and CD8 + T-cell subsets by flow cytometry. A stringent staining and gating strategy was used in order to maximize the reduction of background noise and to exclude false positives. The frequencies of cytokine-producing T-cell subsets, albeit low, were easily quantifiable. Cytokine responses were higher in infants sampled > 7 days from the onset of symptoms. The use of a rigorous strategy for cell staining and gating, coupled with a short-term stimulation of whole blood and a careful evaluation of time elapsed from the onset of symptoms constitutes a convincing approach for future clinical studies.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1339-1344 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 5 |
Publication status | Published - Sep 1 2018 |
Keywords
- Bronchiolitis
- Cytokines
- Flow-cytometry
- Respiratory syncytial virus
- T-cell
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
- Immunology and Allergy
- Physiology
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Endocrinology
- Physiology (medical)
- Cancer Research