[The effect of peripheral blood monocytes on cell-mediated immunity in pregnant women].

The status of autoimmune diseases and viral infections is known to change during and after pregnancy. Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in pregnant women is thought to be involved. Recently, macrophages and monocytes (M phi) were reported to play an important role in CMI. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the effect of peripheral blood M phi on CMI in pregnant women. First, the ratio of M phi to lymphocytes and the absolute number of M phi were calculated during pregnancy. They increased during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Next, the effect of M phi on CMI in pregnant women was studied in terms of the ability of M phi to obtain access to T cells. This decreased slightly during the 1st trimester, increased significantly during the 3rd trimester (p less than 0.01) and returned to normal after delivery. It was found that serum from pregnant women in the 3rd trimester was able to enhance the accessory ability of M phi. Of the various hormones which show the wide fluctuations in concentration in the serum during pregnancy, estrogen increased the accessory ability by 41%, while cortisol decreased it by 40%. In conclusion, M phi were found to influence the CMI in pregnant women and pregnant serum, and especially the hormones such as estrogen and cortisol included in it, were also found to relate to M phi function.