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Updated: Aug 31, 2026
Isolation of Leukocytes from the Murine Tissues at the Maternal-Fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Butyrylcholinesterase activity and pregnancy-associated differences in immunologically relevant peripheral blood
Fadia Mahmoud1, David Haines, Habib Abul
1Department of Medical laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences and Nursing, Kuwait University, Suliebikhat, Kuwait. fadia@hsc.kuniv.edu.kw
Problem:
Toxic anticholinesterases (AC) are known contributors to negative pregnancy outcome. Impairment of detoxification mechanisms may correlate with occurrence of pregnancy disorders in Kuwait.
Method Of Study:
Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), an enzyme which detoxifies AC was evaluated in 18 Kuwaiti women with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), compared with 15 healthy pregnant and eight healthy non-pregnant women. T-lymphocyte subpopulations were measured by flow cytometry, and BuChE activity was measured by spectrophotometry.
Results:
Unlike the PIH group, the normal pregnancy group exhibited a significant increase in BuChE activity compared with non-pregnant control subjects (P = 0.04). Within the PIH cohort, inverse correlations were observed between BuChE activity and percentage of CD4+ CD25+ cells (P = 0.001), and CD8+ CD25+ cells (P = 0.007).
Conclusions:
Elevated BuChE activity in normal pregnancy may correlate with better ability to clear pregnancy-threatening toxins, while lesser ability to do this in PIH women may be a contributor to disease. The fact that PIH subjects with large subpopulations of activated T cells also exhibited low BuChE activity further suggests a correlation between susceptibility to pregnancy loss and decreased activity of the enzyme.
