Expression of select function associated antigens during pregnancy

Bonnie A. Coyne, William R. Crombleholme, Janis P. Smith, Daniel V. Landers

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Pregnancy has long been associated with alterations in phenotypic and functional characteristics of the immune response. We studied a variety of T lymphocyte subsets defined by specific antigen expression during pregnancy using a fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) and fluorescein conjugated monoclonal antibodies. Specifically, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 20 women in the first trimester, 20 women in the second trimester, 26 women in the third trimester and 20 women at the time of delivery. We analyzed for antibody staining of CD3, CD4, CD25 (IL-2 receptor), T cell receptor (beta chain), T cell receptor (delta chain) and two color staining for CD3/CD18 (LFA-1), CD3/CD56 and CD4/CD45R. There was little change in the numbers of cells staining for these antibodies through the three trimesters and at delivery with the exception of T lymphocytes bearing the LFA-1 antigen which were significantly less in the first trimester (P < 0.05). These data support the notion that T cell subsets related to T cell activation, foreign antigen recognition and lymphocyte function are not significantly altered in pregnancy. This supports the observation that immunocompetence is maintained during pregnancy despite the success of the fetal allograft. Definitive conclusions must await longitudinal studies of these antigens.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)115-119
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine
Volume4
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1995

Keywords

  • Monoclonal antibodies
  • Pregnancy
  • T lymphocyte antigens
  • T lymphocyte subsets

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