Perran BORAN, Ayça KIYKIM, İsmail ÖĞÜLÜR, Hülya ELLİDOKUZ, Asım LEBLEBİCİ, Elif AYDINER, Eren ÖZEK, Safa BARIŞ, Ahmet ÖZEN, Özge BESCİ, Goncagül HAKLAR, Dilek BAŞER, Ayşe Cansu BERBEROĞLU, Tolga BESCİ

Reference values for T and B lymphocyte subpopulations in Turkish children and adults

Background/aim: Established reference values are critical for the interpretation of immunologic assessments. In particular, the proportion and absolute counts of T- and B- cell subpopulations are subject to change with age and ethnicity. We aimed to establish agespecific reference values for lymphocyte subsets using updated immunophenotyping panels. Materials and methods: We studied a total of 297 healthy Turkish subjects aged 0 to 50 years, stratified into major age brackets in a cluster factor of 10 per age-group. The predetermined age intervals contained randomly allocated participants enrolled over a period of 6 months, who were homogenously distributed by sex. We analyzed a complete blood count test and simultaneously with detailed immunophenotyping enumerated the percent and absolute cell counts of lymphocyte subsets. Results: The percentage and absolute counts of lymphocyte subsets show a marked surge across the age-span. T helper, T cytotoxic, and the natural killer cell numbers were increasing from birth until 6 months, followed by a gradual decrease thereafter. B cell numbers were rising until 2 years, followed by a gradual decrease for the upcoming years, accompanied by a steady expansion of unclass-switched- and class-switched- B cells. Conclusion: We provide updated extensive reference intervals for lymphocyte subpopulations in Turkish people.Key words: Immunophenotyping, lymphocyte subsets, reference values, lymphocyte percentage, absolute count

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