PERIPHERAL BLOOD T-CELL POPULATION (CD4+) IN MEN LIVING IN THE ARCTIC AND IN THE SEMIARID CLIMATIC ZONES

Abstract

Introduction: Climatic factors are important determinants of human health acting through different mechanisms including the immune system. Long-term exposure to extreme climatic conditions may result in immune response disturbances manifested by secondary immunodeficiency. Aim: To assess the concentration of T-helpers in the peripheral blood (CD4+) of men living in the extreme climatic conditions of the North and the South. Methods: Altogether, 32 men aged from 20 to 60 years from Arkhangelsk (Arctic Russia) and 30 men of the same age from Aleppo (Syria) comprised the sample. The analysis of immune parameters of lymphoid subpopulations of peripheral blood CD3+ (mature lymphoid cells), CD4+ (T-helper cells) was performed by indirect immunoperoxidase reaction using monoclonal antibodies. Results: A deficiency of mature T-lymphocytes (CD3+) was revealed in 93-100 % of the study participants regardless of age and region of residence (0,27-0,62 -109 cells/l). A reduced content of T-helpers (CD4+) was found in 52,9 % and 46,7 % of men in Arkhangelsk at the age of 20-39 and 40-60 years (0,34-0,43 -109 cells/l), respectively. The deficiency of T-helpers in Aleppo men aged 20-39 and 40-60 was found in 40,0 % and 6,7 % of cases. Conclusion: Severe T-cell immunodeficiency was twice as common in young men in the Arctic compared to the residents of semiarid climatic zone of the same age group. Low T-helper activity was 6,7 times more prevalent among the northerners than among the Syrians in the of the older age group.