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Genetic control of the CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio in humans

Abstract

We studied the genetic pattern of inheritance of the ratio between circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in a population of healthy donors. The distribution of the CD4/CD8 ratio in males and females was significantly different and was significantly affected by age. In 46 randomly selected families, the parental CD4/CD8 ratio significantly influenced the ratio in offspring. Complex segregation analysis of the data rejected the non-genetic hypothesis; among the genetic models tested, a major recessive gene with a polygenic component and random environmental effects was the most parsimonious model. These findings indicate that the ratio of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells is genetically controlled in humans.

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Amadori, A., Zamarchi, R., De Silvestro, G. et al. Genetic control of the CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio in humans. Nat Med 1, 1279–1283 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1295-1279

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