Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, 602-8566, Japan.
IVF Center, Oak Clinic, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 557-0045, Japan.
Am J Reprod Immunol. 2022 Dec;88(6):e13636. doi: 10.1111/aji.13636. Epub 2022 Oct 21.
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play important roles in diseases occurring in women of reproductive age and pregnancy. Tregs are functionally heterogeneous and can be divided into activated Tregs (aTregs), resting Tregs (rTregs), and non-suppressive Tregs (non-Tregs). The purpose of this study is to investigate the change of Treg subpopulations during the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy.
Two groups of women were enrolled: healthy women aged 20 to 39 years with normal menstrual cycles and patients scheduled to undergo frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer (FT-BT) (subfertile women). Peripheral blood samples were collected at day 5 of the onset of menstruation (follicular phase), 0-2 days after luteinizing hormone (LH) surge (periovulatory phase), and 7-11 days after LH surge (luteal phase) from 20 healthy women. From 23 subfertile women, samples were collected at day 5 (the day of BT) and day 14 (the day of pregnancy testing) of progestogen administration during FT-BT cycle and 9 weeks of gestation if the patient got pregnant. The proportion of total Treg and its subpopulations among CD4 T cells was analyzed.
TTreg and aTreg proportion expanded during periovulatory phase (p < .01) and after pregnancy (p < .05 for tTreg and p < .01 for aTreg). rTreg proportion was significantly high during periovulatory phase (p < .01) and during luteal phase (p < .01). Non-Tregs showed no significant change.
RTregs and aTregs, especially in luteal phase and after getting pregnant, showed significant changes and may play important roles in women of reproductive age.
调节性 T 细胞（Tregs）在育龄期和妊娠妇女中发生的疾病中发挥着重要作用。Tregs 具有功能异质性，可分为活化的 Tregs（aTregs）、静息的 Tregs（rTregs）和非抑制性的 Tregs（non-Tregs）。本研究旨在探讨 Treg 亚群在月经周期和早孕期间的变化。
纳入两组女性：年龄 20-39 岁、月经周期正常的健康女性和计划进行冻融胚胎移植（FT-BT）的患者（不孕女性）。从 20 名健康女性中采集月经来潮第 5 天（卵泡期）、促黄体生成素（LH）峰后 0-2 天（排卵前期）和 LH 峰后 7-11 天（黄体期）的外周血样本。从 23 名不孕女性中采集 FT-BT 周期中孕激素给药的第 5 天（BT 日）和第 14 天（妊娠检测日）以及怀孕时的第 9 周的样本。分析 CD4 T 细胞中总 Treg 及其亚群的比例。
TTreg 和 aTreg 比例在排卵前期（p<0.01）和妊娠后（tTreg 时 p<0.05，aTreg 时 p<0.01）扩大。rTreg 比例在排卵前期（p<0.01）和黄体期（p<0.01）显著升高。non-Tregs 无明显变化。
rTregs 和 aTregs，尤其是黄体期和妊娠后，变化显著，可能在育龄期妇女中发挥重要作用。
