Title:Reproductive Toxicity of T Cells in Early Life: Abnormal Immune Development and Postnatal Diseases
Volume: 18
Issue: 10
Author(s): Han-xiao Liu, Aifang Jiang, Ting Chen, Wen Qu, Hui-yi Yan and Jie Ping*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacology, Wuhan University School of Basic Medical Sciences, 185, Donghu Road, Wuhan 430071,China
Keywords:
Immunotoxicology, reproductive toxicity, T cells, thymocytes, thymus, immune diseases.
Abstract: Immunity is a balanced status with adequate biological defenses to recognize and fight
“non-self”, as well as adequate tolerance to recognize “self”. To maintain this immune homeostasis, a
well-organized T cell immune network is required, which in part depends on the well-controlled development
of alternative effector T cells, with different cytokine repertoires. Recent researches have
pointed that developing fetal T cells network is a remarkably sensitive toxicological target for adverse
factors in early life. Epidemiological and experimental studies showed an inseparable relationship between
T cell developmental toxicity and immune diseases in adults. Considering that the inflammatory
and immune disorders have become a growing health problem worldwide, increasing attention is
now being paid to the T cell developmental toxicity. We propose that adverse factors may have programming
effects on the crucial functions of immune system during early life which is critical for fetal
T cell development and the establishment of the distinct T cell repertoires balance. The permanently
disturbed intrathymic or peripheral T cell development may in turn lead to the immune disorders
in later life. In this manuscript, we reviewed how adverse factors affected T cell development in
early-life with the consequence of the immune dysfunction and immune diseases, and further elucidate
the mechanisms. These mechanisms will be helpful in prevention and treatment of the increased
prevalence of immune diseases by interfering those pathways.
