FACS analysis of changes in T and B lymphocyte populations in the blood, spleen and lymph nodes of pregnant mice.
Using the fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS), the percentages of T and B lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, spleen and lymph nodes of CBA syngeneic and allogeneic pregnancies were determined. At 19 days of syngeneic pregnancy, the level of T cells in the blood had decreased and that of B cells had increased. In the spleen, a decrease in both T and B cells occurred earlier in pregnancy and had returned to control levels by 19 days. During the last few days of pregnancy, the para-aortic lymph nodes (PALN) draining the pregnant uterus of syngeneically mated mice showed a 1 . 7-fold increase in the level of B cells over that in virgin controls. The T-cell level dropped at the end of pregnancy by approximately 10%. There was no change in T- or B-cell status in the brachial (underarm) nodes taken from the same animals.
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D002469:Cell Separation; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*