title: Impairment of immunity during pregnancy and antiviral effect of amniotic fluid.
abstract: In 297 pregnant women serum-levels of antibody to rubella virus were determined by haemagglutination inhibition, and serum-levels of antibodies to herpes-simplex virus and Toxoplasma gondii were measured by indirect immunofluorescence tests. Sera of age-matched non-pregnant women with intrauterine devices were also tested for the antibodies. A lower level of humoral immunity was found in the pregnant women than in the controls, and this fell further as pregnancy progressed. Investigation of serum-samples taken at 14 weeks' gestation, at delivery, and 30-45 days post-partum revealed that after delivery humoral immunity to rubella virus returned to the levels of early gestation. Of 44 amniotic-fluid samples collected from pregnancies terminated at 11-14 wk and examined for antiviral activity to herpes-simplex virus and polio-virus, 7 exerted an antiviral effect which could be linked with the protein (other than alpha1-fetoprotein) fraction of the amniotic fluid.
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000276:immunology*; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D000917:Antibody Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D012412:Rubella virus / Q000276:immunology; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000276:immunology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000914:Antibodies, Viral