The molecular background of the defects in the immune reactivity of human neonates has not been fully elucidated. As the NF-kappa B transcription factor has a central role in the control of transcription of several genes involved in immune and inflammatory responses, the authors have analysed the activation of NF-kappa B in human umbilical cord T lymphocytes. The activity was tested by quantitating the nuclear proteins binding to an oligonucleotide containing the consensus kappa B binding sequence (electrophoretic mobility shift assay). The data obtained demonstrate that phorbol dibutyrate/calcium ionophore A23187 (PDBu/iono) combination induced a clearly higher nuclear translocation of NF-kappa B in neonatal than adult T cells. This higher NF-kappa B activity was restricted to the CD4+ T-cell subset. Analysis of the nuclear extracts with antibodies directed against the major components of NF-kappa B the p50 and RelA (p65) proteins, indicated that the composition of NF-kappa B was similar in neonatal and adult cells. These results suggest that neonatal T cells are exposed to oxidative stress-inducing signals during delivery and/or are inherently more sensitive to NF-kappa B activating signals than adult T cells.