T cell receptor excision circles as a tool for evaluating thymic function in young children

Autor(es)

Levy, A. ^[1] ; Rangel-Santos, A. ^[1] ; Torres, L. C. ^[2] ; Silveira-Abreu, G. ^[1] ; Agena, F. ^[3] ; Carneiro-Sampaio, M. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Hosp Clin, Inst Crianca, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Inst Med Integral Prof Fernando Figueira IMIP, Lab Pesquisa Translac, Recife, PE - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Hosp Clin, Inst Cent, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research; v. 52, n. 7 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

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. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 14/50489-9 - O timo humano: desenvolvimento e doenças
• Beneficiário: Magda Maria Sales Carneiro-Sampaio
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático