Soluble CD30 Antigen in Human Colostrum

Abstract

It is now well established that the CD30 glycoprotein is a surface antigen expressed by activated T cells producing T-helper (Th)-2-type lymphokines. Mounting laboratory evidence, however, suggests that CD30 expression is not confined to a functionally restricted subset of T cells, but also identifies activated cells with a Th-1 and Th-0 pattern of cytokine secretion. CD30-bearing T lymphocytes release a soluble form of the molecule (sCD30), which can be detected both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, very high levels of sCD30 were found in colostrum from 20 puerperal women, but not in autologous and heterologous (nonpregnant women) blood samples. These data strongly support an involvement of CD30+ T cells in the immune processes which take place at the level of the mammary gland during pregnancy and lactation. Passively transferred immune components such as immunoglobulins, cytokines, macrophages, natural killer cells, granulocytes and memory/activated T cells, all of which may help the baby to fight off infections, have been revealed in human breast milk. However, how Th-2-type cytokine-secreting T cells or other T-cell types help to endow the congenitally immunocompromised newborn infant with extrinsic immunological support remains an open question.

Soluble CD30 and CD23 in cord blood are not related to atopy in early childhood

“…High levels of sCD30 have been demonstrated in colostrum (18), and elevated levels of sCD30 have been shown in children with AD (8–10). In a case‐control study, Latza et al.…”

Levels of soluble CD30 in cord blood and peripheral blood during childhood are not correlated with the development of atopic disease or a family history of atopy

“…Accordingly, although an association between elevated sCD30 levels and AEDS in adults has been clearly established (as discussed above), age‐dependent variations in sCD30 levels in children may mask possible relationships between this parameter and atopy. Although the function(s) performed by sCD30 during infancy remains unclear, the interesting observation that very high levels of sCD30 are present in human colostrums [43], and transferred to the baby in connection with breastfeeding, indicates that this receptor may play an important role(s) in the maturation of the child's immunological responses.…”

CD3+/CD30+ Circulating T Lymphocytes Are Markedly Increased in Older Subjectswith Down’s Syndrome (Tr isomy 21)

“…interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5. However, recent experimental data have evidenced that CD30 is also coexpressed by CD8+ cytotoxic T-cell clones which exhibit a Th-2-like cytokine secretion profile, as well as by T-cell lines or clones triggered by antigens which elicit a Th-1-mediated immune response [3].…”

“…It is known that the blood of DS patients contains a spectrum of autoantibodies, as well as an altered ratio of immunoregulatory T-cell subsets [1], including an increased number of cells which display the Á‰ T-cell receptor heterodimer [2]. CD3+, a 105-to 120-kD transmembrane molecule previously termed Ki-1, is a cell surface cytokine receptor originally identified on Reed-Sternberg cells of Hodgkin's disease and a subset of T-cell lymphomas, commonly referred to as Ki-1+ lymphoma [3]. Despite certain conflicting results [4], there is compelling evidence that the CD30 antigen is expressed by activated T cells producing T-helper (Th)-2-type lymphokines and, therefore, could be involved in the production of antibodies to exogenous antigens and, perhaps, autoantigens [3].…”