GENETIC-CONTROL OF THE CD4 CD8 T-CELL RATIO IN HUMANS/

We studied the genetic pattern of inheritance of the ratio between cir culating CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes in a population of healthy do nors. The distribution of the CD4/CD8 ratio in males and females was s ignificantly different and was significantly affected by age. In 46 ra ndomly selected families, the parental CD4/CD8 ratio significantly inf luenced the ratio in offspring. Complex segregation analysis of the da ta rejected the non-genetic hypothesis; among the genetic models teste d, a major recessive gene with a polygenic component and random enviro nmental effects was the most parsimonious model. These findings indica te that the ratio of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells is genetically controll ed in humans.