[Changes in proportion of decidua and peripheral blood CD(4)(+)CD(25)(+) regulatory T cells in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion patients].
OBJECTIVE
To study the changes in the percentage of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(+) regulatory T (Tr) cells in peripheral blood and deciduas in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) patients, normal non-pregnant and pregnant women respectively.


METHODS
The percentage of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(+) Tr cells in deciduas and peripheral blood from 25 URSA patients, 22 normal non-pregnant (NNP) women, and 34 normal early pregnant (NP) women were measured by double-staining followed by flow cytometric analysis.


RESULTS
(1) The percentage of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(bright) T cells in peripheral blood in both URSA and NP [(1.55 +/- 0.77)%, (2.65 +/- 1.10)%, respectively] women were increased significantly than that in NNP women [(0.39 +/- 0.14)%, P < 0.05]. The percentage of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(bright) T cells in peripheral blood in URSA women was significantly lower than that in NP women (P < 0.05). (2) The percentage of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(bright) T cells in decidua in URSA women was significantly lower than that in NP women [(0.59 +/- 0.23)%, (1.24 +/- 0.55)%, respectively, P < 0.01]. There was no significant difference in the percentage of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(dim) T cells in decidua between URSA women and NP women [(4.23 +/- 1.52)%, (3.75 +/- 1.88)%, respectively, P > 0.05]. (3) The proportion of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(bright)/CD(4)(+) cells in deciduas was significantly higher than that in peripheral blood in NP women [(13.10 +/- 10.25)%, (5.59 +/- 2.62)%, respectively, P < 0.05]. However, a significant difference in the proportion of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(bright)/CD(4)(+) between decidua and peripheral blood was not found in URSA patients [(5.16 +/- 2.83)%, (4.64 +/- 2.07)%, respectively, P > 0.05)].


CONCLUSIONS
The number of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(+) Tr cells is increased in normal pregnancy and decreased in URSA. Therefore, CD(4)(+)CD(25)(+) Tr cells may play an important role in maintaining maternal-fetal tolerance and may be involved in the pathogenesis of URSA.
Yang
Hui
H
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200001, China.
Lin
Qi-de
QD
Qiu
Li-Hua
LH
Zhao
Ai-Ming
AM
Hu
Ke
K
Chen
Guang-Jie
GJ
Shi
Gui-Ying
GY
D000026:Abortion, Habitual / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000328:Adult; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003656:Decidua / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000276:immunology*; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D011247:Pregnancy; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
D015704:CD4 Antigens; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit