Altered thymocyte and T cell development in neonatal mice with hyperoxia-induced lung injury

作者：Angusamy Sowmya; Mansour Tamer; Abdulmageed Mohammed; Han Rachel; Schutte Brian C; LaPres John; Harkema Jack R; Omar Said A^*

来源：Journal of Perinatal Medicine, 2018, 46(4): 441-449.

DOI：10.1515/jpm-2016-0234

• Hyperoxia
• neonatal
• T cells
• thymocyte development
• thymus

Background: The adaptive immune system of neonates is relatively underdeveloped. The thymus is an essential organ for adaptive T cell development and might be affected during the natural course of oxygen induced lung injury. The effect of prolonged hyperoxia on the thymus, thymocyte and T cell development, and its proliferation has not been studied extensively.
Methods: Neonatal mice were exposed to 85% oxygen (hyperoxia) or room air (normoxia) up to 28 days. Flow cytometry using surface markers were used to assay for thymocyte development and proliferation.
Results: Mice exposed to prolonged hyperoxia had evidence of lung injury associated alveolar simplification, a significantly lower mean weight, smaller thymic size, lower mean thymocyte count and higher percentage of apoptotic thymocytes. T cells subpopulation in the thymus showed a significant reduction in the count and proliferation of double positive and double negative T cells. There was a significant reduction in the count and proliferation of single positive CD4+ and CD8+T cells.
Conclusions: Prolonged hyperoxia in neonatal mice adversely affected thymic size, thymocyte count and altered the distribution of T cells sub-populations. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that prolonged hyperoxia causes defective development of T cells in the thymus.

• 出版日期2018-5