{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T16:42:36Z","timestamp":1782232956192,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,18]],"date-time":"2023-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1676678400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Auckland Medical Research Foundation"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) represent a distinct T cell subset characterized by a tolerance-prone status. We have recently demonstrated that the proportion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) is nearly two-fold higher in exclusively breastfed compared with exclusively formula-fed neonates. However, it has been unknown whether the type of milk is also associated with the proportion of the RTE cell compartment. Cord blood (CB) and, at three weeks of age, peripheral venous blood samples were collected from 19 healthy-term neonates. A maternal blood sample was also taken. The proportion of RTEs, na\u00efve CD4 cells, na\u00efve RTEs, and Tregs was analyzed by flow cytometry in blood samples. RTE cell proportions were comparable between CB and 3 weeks. At both time points, there was no difference in the proportion of na\u00efve CD4 cells, RTE CD4 cells, and na\u00efve RTE CD4 cells between the feeding groups. The fold change of RTE cells between birth and three weeks of life was highest in mixed-fed babies. Since RTE counts were comparable across the feeding groups at birth, this most likely reflects a postnatal upregulation, to which the dual antigenic exposure to both non-inherited maternal antigens via breastmilk, as well as to other environmental antigens in formula milk, may contribute.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu15041028","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,20]],"date-time":"2023-02-20T01:36:37Z","timestamp":1676856997000},"page":"1028","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The Proportion of Recent Thymic Emigrant Lymphocytes in Breastfed and Formula Fed Term Neonates"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Marco","family":"Lorenzini","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Paediatrics, Thames Valley Deanery, Oxford OX4 2GX, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0178-1243","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gergely","family":"Toldi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand"},{"name":"Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"544","DOI":"10.1038\/nri3028","article-title":"Post-thymic maturation: Young T cells assert their individuality","volume":"11","author":"Fink","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"363","DOI":"10.1038\/s41577-018-0001-y","article-title":"The full spectrum of human naive T cells","volume":"18","author":"Borghans","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.coi.2017.12.006","article-title":"Reinterpreting recent thymic emigrant function: Defective or adaptive?","volume":"51","author":"Cunningham","year":"2018","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e96724","DOI":"10.1172\/jci.insight.96724","article-title":"T cell developmental arrest in former premature infants increases risk of respiratory morbidity later in infancy","volume":"3","author":"Scheible","year":"2018","journal-title":"JCI Insight"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1171","DOI":"10.1586\/1744666X.2014.942288","article-title":"Immune Responses in Neonates","volume":"10","author":"Basha","year":"2014","journal-title":"Expert Rev. Clin. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zuiderwijk, M.O., van der Burg, M., Bekker, V., and Schoenaker, M.H.D. (2022). Regulatory T Cells in Development and Prediction of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Neonates: A Scoping Review. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 23.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms231810903"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"694034","DOI":"10.3389\/fped.2021.694034","article-title":"T Lymphocytes, Multi-Omic Interactions and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia","volume":"9","author":"Toldi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Pediatr."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2447","DOI":"10.1111\/all.14736","article-title":"Breastfeeding Promotes Early Neonatal Regulatory T-Cell Expansion and Immune Tolerance of Non-Inherited Maternal Antigens","volume":"76","author":"Wood","year":"2021","journal-title":"Allergy"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1206","DOI":"10.1038\/nm.3670","article-title":"Interleukin-8 (CXCL8) production is a signatory T cell effector function of human newborn infants","volume":"20","author":"Gibbons","year":"2014","journal-title":"Nat. Med."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102489","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaut.2020.102489","article-title":"Tolerization of recent thymic emigrants is required to prevent RBC-specific autoimmunity","volume":"114","author":"Wong","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Autoimmun."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"972127","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2022.972127","article-title":"Distinct CD4+ T cell signature in ANA-positive young adult patients","volume":"13","author":"Moriconi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. 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