Jonsson Yvonne, Ekerfelt Christina, Berg Göran, Nieminen Katri, Sharma Surendra, Ernerudh Jan, Matthiesen Leif
Autoimmunity and Immune Regulation, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Division of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
Am J Reprod Immunol. 2004 Apr;51(4):302-10. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0897.2004.00161.x.
A Th1-shift has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. This study was designed to compare Th1/Th2 related cytokine secretion in blood between women with preeclampsia (n = 15) and normal pregnancies (n = 15), using a high-sensitivity technique for cytokine detection.
Spontaneous as well as 'fetus-specific' and recall antigen-specific (purified protein derivate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tetanus toxoid and lipopolysaccharide) secretion of interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10 and IL-12 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot-forming cell assay (ELISPOT). Fetus-specific secretion was induced by stimulation with paternal PBMC in a mixed leukocyte culture assay.
All cytokines were secreted by PBMCs both from women with preeclampsia and women with normal pregnancies. No differences in the number of cytokine-secreting cells were found between the two groups.
No evidence was found for a shift in the systemic Th1/Th2 responses, in preeclampsia compared with normal pregnancy. This does, however, not exclude differences in the local immune responses related to the fetoplacental unit.
