title: Characterisation of the humoral immune response during murine pregnancy.
abstract: Blood samples from female C57BL/10 mice mated with CBA/Ca males were obtained before, during and after both first and second pregnancies. A cellular enzyme-linked immunospecific assay (CELISA) was used to detect maternal antibodies against antigens on paternal splenocytes. Alloantibodies were detected in 48% of mice during or 9 days after a first pregnancy and in 82% of mice by the ninth day after the second pregnancy; these antibodies were first observed on day 10 of the first pregnancy. In two of four active multigravid sera tested, an increase in IgG1 concentration was detected; the level of all other isotypes remained within normal limits. Weak binding of alloantibody to an antigen of approximate molecular weight 44,000 was detected on CBA/Ca splenocytes by immunoblotting sera from multiparous animals. These sera also recognised an antigen of similar molecular weight on H-2b identical 129J splenocytes but not on splenocytes from the maternal strain. These results provide further information on the maternal humoral immune response during murine pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Aberdeen University Medical School, U.K.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Melvin
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Catto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007518:Isoantibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes; D007518:Isoantibodies