Mononuclear cell subpopulations in CSF and blood of children with bacterial meningitis

Objectives: To elucidate mononuclear cell subsets of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in order to investigate the pathogenesis of bacterial. meningitis (BM). Methods: Mononuclear cell and lymphocyte subsets in CSF and peripheral blood from 10 children with acute-stage BM before treatment on the same day were measured by flow cytometry. The control subjects for the subsets of peripheral blood were 15 healthy children. Results: The percentages of CD14+ monocytes/macrophages (median: 56.5%), activated CD14+CD16+ monocytes/macrophages (20.9%), and CD14+CD16+ cells among total CD14+ cells (37.9%) in the CSF were significantly higher than those in the blood of children with BM (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively), which were significantly higher than those of the controls (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.05, respectively). The percentages of CD3+ (77.3%), CD4+ (45.2%), and CD8+ T cells (32.6%) in the CSF were significantly higher than those in the blood of affected children (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively). The percentages of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells in the blood of children with BM were significantly tower than those of controls (all p < 0.001). The percentages of CD20+ B cells (6.9%) in the CSF were significantly lower than those in the blood of affected children (p < 0.01), which were significantly higher than those of controls (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The percentages of monocytes/macrophages and T cells in CSF were higher than those in blood in children with BM. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The British Infection Society.