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Postnatal Development of Lung T Lymphocytes in a Porcine Model

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Abstract

Purpose

Despite the high prevalence of respiratory diseases in the world and the extensive information available on the mucosal immune system, research on the development of the lung immune system in humans is limited by technical and ethical considerations; therefore, we studied the postnatal development of T lymphocytes in lung lobes in a porcine model.

Methods

Using less than 36-hour-old (NB), 1-week-weaned (5-week-old –AW-), 3-month-old (3M), and 4-year-old (4YR) healthy, nonvaccinated, specific pathogen free (SPF) Vietnamese miniature pigs, we studied the CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, TCR1 (gamma-delta T cells), and CD25+ (IL-2R-alpha) cell subpopulations in lung lobes parenchyma, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and cervical lymph nodes (LN) by flow cytometry.

Results

No differences among lung lobes were detected in any of the cell subpopulations tested. A low proportion of T cell subsets was detected in NB and 4YR groups in lung and BAL. Besides, the AW and 3M groups showed important changes in T cell subpopulations.

Conclusions

These results suggest that in healthy animals the lung lobes behave as a homogeneous immune organ. T cells were detected in very low percentages at birth and in adult life, which may explain the high susceptibility to respiratory infections both early and later in life. Postweaning antigenic challenges and endocrine and sexual maturity at 3M had important effects on the development of the mucosal immune system. It was also evident that changes at mucosal sites were poorly correlated with PBMC and LN.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Mick Bailey and Dr. Karin Haverson (University of Bristol, UK) for providing monoclonal antibodies. Dr. L. Flores-Romo (CINVESTAV-IPN) and Dr. H. Wilson (U. Saskatchewan, Canada) critically read the manuscript. Thanks to Manuel Flores-Cano and Daniel Cortes-Casarrubias (UPEAL-CINVESTAV) for technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Ethical Standards

All procedures followed institutional regulations (NOM-062-ZOO-1999), and the ad hoc Institutional Committee (CICUAL-CINVESTAV) authorized the experimental protocol.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Inmunobiología de las Mucosas, Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Instituto Politécnico Nacional # 2508 Colonia Zacatenco, 07360, México, D.F, Mexico

    Angel J. Balam-May, Carmen Ramírez-Estudillo, Gloria Lazo-Vázquez & Marco A. Vega-López

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  1. Angel J. Balam-May
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  2. Carmen Ramírez-Estudillo
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  3. Gloria Lazo-Vázquez
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  4. Marco A. Vega-López
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Correspondence to Marco A. Vega-López.

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Balam-May, A.J., Ramírez-Estudillo, C., Lazo-Vázquez, G. et al. Postnatal Development of Lung T Lymphocytes in a Porcine Model. Lung 192, 793–802 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-014-9622-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-014-9622-5

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