title: Differential effects of plasma from normal and ectopic gestation on lymphocyte proliferation.
abstract: This study investigated immunoregulatory differences as a result of anatomical changes in the fetomaternal interface. Thirty-one female subjects were recruited from a military tertiary-care facility. Ten subjects were non-pregnant while 21 were pregnant (nine normal and 12 ectopic gestations). Immune tests included one-way mixed lymphocyte cultures with and without maternal plasma, phytohemagglutinin stimulation and lymphocyte phenotypes. Basic statistics and a one-way ANOVA using Tuckey's HSD model were employed. Autologous plasma significantly enhanced the allogeneic responses of first-trimester pregnant females with normal gestations to spouses as well as to control male lymphocytes. This enhancement was not observed in either ectopically-pregnant or non-pregnant subjects. Mitogen stimulation and lymphocyte populations were similar in all three groups. The first trimester of normal pregnancy is characterized by the presence of soluble intrauterine pregnancy-specific lymphocyte-enhancing factors. Ectopic gestation lacks this phenomenon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Portsmouth, VA, USA.
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Nasser
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Ratzlaff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000276:immunology*; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011271:Pregnancy, Ectopic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*