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Interferon Response of Human Leukocytes during Intrauterine and Postnatal Life¹

From the State Serum Institute, Department III of Pathology, University of Helsinki, and Clinic II of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

The interferon response of blood samples from 11 embryos (8 to 17 weeks), 3 prematures, 8 full-term newborns, 9 children (1 month to 10 years) and 22 adults (17 to 96 years) was studied by exposing them to Sendai virus in vitro. Detectable amounts of interferon were recovered from all the cultures. The interferon titers were in general lowest among the embryos and highest among the prematures and children. However, when the titers were expressed per lymphocyte, the ratios obtained were roughly constant. This suggests that the interferon-producing capacity of human lymphocytes in peripheral blood remains relatively constant throughout intrauterine and postnatal life.

Footnotes

This work was supported by grants from the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation and the National Research Council for Medical Sciences.

² On leave from Institute for Tumor Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 60, Sweden.