[Effect of TFX preparation on the course of pregnancy in rabbits with experimental antiphospholipid syndrome]

Recurrent thrombo-embolic episodes and pregnancy loss, thrombocytopenia and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, first described in 1983 by Hughes and defined by Harris in 1987, are characteristic of the primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). APS is the cause of obstetrical problems in the form of recurrent miscarriages, intrauterine fetal death or growth retardation, and EPH gestosis. Clinical symptoms described above are probably mediated by antiphospholipid antibodies which interact with endothelial and trophoblastic cells, blood platelets, embryonic tissue cells, as well as with coagulation factors and proteins involved in the coagulation cascade or in antibody binding. Management of APS includes antiaggregation, anticoagulation, immunosuppression, and intravenous administration of gamma globulins. Successful treatment is not always the case and search for more efficient therapies continues. The importance of animal experiments led to the design at the Department of Pathology of Pregnancy and Labour of an APS model in pregnant and nonpregnant rabbits. As Turowski et al. have confirmed the immunomodulating action of TFX in rabbits, it seemed justified to examine the properties of this preparation in pregnant rabbits with experimentally induced APS. The material consisted of 30 pregnant New Zealand rabbits, divided into the following groups: I--10 pregnant rabbits (and 63 fetuses) treated intradermally twice weekly since the 10th day of pregnancy with cardiolipin together with adjuvant; I-K--5 pregnant rabbits (and 17 fetuses) treated with cardiolipin and adjuvant in the same manner as group I and additionally with intramuscular injections of 0.9% NaCl on the 20th, 21st, and 22nd day; I-T--10 pregnant rabbits (and 66 fetuses) treated with cardiolipin with adjuvant in the same manner as group I and additionally with intramuscular injections of 10 mg/day of TFX (Jelfa, Poland) on the 20th, 21st, and 22nd day of pregnancy; K--5 pregnant rabbits (and 27 fetuses) treated with injections of 0.9% NaCl twice weekly. Blood samples for laboratory analysis were collected by cardiac puncture before immunization (sample I) and on the day of caesarean section (sample II). Platelet counts and APTT tests were done. Numbers of live and dead newborns, resorbed fetuses, body mass, newborn viability and survival rates were recorded. TFX administered to pregnant rabbits with experimentally induced antiphospholipid syndrome increased the number of live newborns, reduced the incidence of fetal resorption, increased the viability and survival rate of newborn rabbits. The beneficial effect of TFX on APTT and platelet count was revealed, such that these parameters remained within the normal range despite immunization. Morphological changes observed in the placenta were not specific.