Pre-eclampsia is not associated with changes in the levels of regulatory T cells in peripheral blood.
OBJECTIVE
The acceptance of the semi-allogeneic fetus within the maternal environment requires tolerance mechanisms not fully characterized yet. Normal pregnancy is known to be associated with a Th2 profile. Furthermore, regulatory T cells (Tregs) were proposed to regulate the Th2/Th1 balance at early stages of pregnancy. Treg may avoid the shift to a Th1 profile, thus preventing miscarriage. Accordingly, spontaneous abortion is characterized by a Th1 dominance and diminished levels of Treg. The major aim of the present work was to investigate if pre-eclampsia, a late immunological complication of pregnancy, is characterized by similar hallmarks.


METHODS
We measured the surface antigens CD4, CD25, CD8 and CTLA4 in peripheral blood from patients suffering from pre-eclampsia (n = 8) and age-matched patients undergoing normal pregnancies (n = 9) by four-color flow cytometry.


RESULTS
We were not able to find any significant differences in the levels of CD4(+), CD25(+), CD8(+), CTLA4, CD4(+)/CD25(+), CD4(+)/CD25(bright), CD4(+)/CTLA4, CD25(+)/CTLA4, CD4(+)/CD25(+)/CTLA4, CD8(+)/CD25(+), CD8(+)/CTLA4 or CD8(+)/CD25(+)/CTLA4 cell subsets.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data confirm comparable number of Tregs during pre-eclampsia and normal pregnancy in peripheral blood. Other regulatory mechanisms might be involved during late pregnancy.
Paeschke
Steffen
S
Institute of Medical Immunology, Charité, Medical University of Berlin, Germany.
Chen
Frank
F
Horn
Nadja
N
Fotopoulou
Christina
C
Zambon-Bertoja
Annarosa
A
Sollwedel
Andre
A
Zenclussen
Maria Laura
ML
Casalis
Pablo Ariel
PA
Dudenhausen
Joachim W
JW
Volk
Hans-Dieter
HD
Zenclussen
Ana Claudia
AC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000276:immunology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
D015703:Antigens, CD