Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1989 May;9(3):214-22.
doi: 10.1007/BF00916817.

The influence of age, race, and gender on peripheral blood mononuclear-cell subsets in healthy nonsmokers

D J Tollerud  1 , J W Clark, L M Brown, C Y Neuland, L K Pankiw-Trost, W A Blattner, R N Hoover
Affiliations
Comparative Study

The influence of age, race, and gender on peripheral blood mononuclear-cell subsets in healthy nonsmokers

D J Tollerud et al. J Clin Immunol. 1989 May.

Abstract

To investigate the influence of age, race, and gender on the cellular immune system, we determined T-cell, B-cell, monocyte, natural killer (NK)-cell, and HLA-DR+-cell subsets in 266 nonsmokers from a population-based random sample of healthy adults using monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry. Blacks had a lower total white blood-cell count than whites (P less than or equal to 0.0001), due primarily to a decrease in granulocytes. There was no significant difference in absolute lymphocyte count between blacks and whites. Blacks had a higher proportion of CD19+ cells (Leu 12+ B cells) and a lower proportion of CD3+ cells (OKT3+ T cells) than whites (P less than or equal to 0.01). Female sex and increasing age were independently associated with an increased percentage of CD4+ cells (OKT4A+ helper-inducer T-cell subset), resulting in a higher helper/suppressor ratio among women and older individuals (P less than or equal to 0.05). Black race and increasing age were independently associated with an increased proportion of HLA-DR+ cells (P less than or equal to 0.0001) which was not attributable to B cells or monocytes. No significant age, race, or gender effects were observed for CD14+ cells (Leu M3+ monocytes) or CD16+ cells (Leu 11A+ natural killer cells). These data demonstrate that age, race, and gender are each associated with significant differences in peripheral blood mononuclear-cell subsets. Population-based data such as these provide an important foundation for future design and interpretation of human flow cytometry data.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Blood. 1985 Oct;66(4):967-72 - PubMed
    1. Cancer Res. 1983 Feb;43(2):897-904 - PubMed
    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Aug;76(8):4061-5 - PubMed
    1. J Immunol. 1980 Jul;125(1):293-9 - PubMed
    1. J Immunol Methods. 1984 Mar 16;67(2):243-53 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources