Soluble histocompatibility class I antigens and beta 2-microglobulin in pregnant females and cord blood samples.

Pregnancy can be considered a successful transplantation of allogeneic paternal tissue to the mother. Soluble HLA class I serum levels have been found to increase during solid organ rejection episodes and during graft-versus-host disease after bone marrow transplantation. We wished to determine whether significant changes in sHLA class I and beta 2-microglobulin light chain levels occurred during pregnancy, because these may reflect adaptive changes permitting the acceptance of the fetal graft. Serum samples were obtained from women at different stages of pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Cord blood samples and serum samples from nonpregnant female and male controls living in the same geographic area in Southern Chile were also studied. The levels of sHLA class I heterodimers were determined by an ELISA sandwich technique; beta 2-microglobulin levels were measured by MEIA IMX-Abbott. There was a significant elevation of sHLA class I levels in the first 2 trimesters of pregnancy, followed by a significant drop below normal levels at the end of pregnancy, with normalization in the post-partum period. beta 2-microglobulin levels did not change significantly during pregnancy and did not correlate with sHLA class I levels. In cord blood samples, sHLA class I levels were lower and beta 2-microglobulin levels higher than those of adult controls and of mothers at the time of delivery. The variations in sHLA class I levels during pregnancy may reflect or contribute to immunoregulatory events related to the acceptance of the fetal graft.