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Effector and regulatory lymphocytes in asthmatic pregnant women
Anikó Bohács1, Aron Cseh, Balázs Stenczer
1Department of Pulmonology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Problem:
Asthma influences pregnancy outcome and pregnancy affects asthma severity, but the immunologic mechanisms of these interactions are not fully elucidated.
Method:
The prevalence of lymphocyte subsets was identified by cell surface markers and intracellular FoxP3 staining, in healthy non-pregnant (HNP; N = 15), healthy pregnant (HP; N=33), asthmatic non-pregnant (ANP; N=62) and asthmatic pregnant (AP; N=61) women.
Results:
Regulatory T cell (Treg) prevalence was higher in HP than in HNP subjects and showed a positive correlation with fetal birth weight, which was blunted in AP group. Treg prevalence was lower and invariable natural killer T cell prevalence was higher in AP patients (compared to HP). Higher naive and lower effector T cell prevalence was observed in AP than in ANP group.
Conclusion:
Pregnancy-induced increase in Treg cell prevalence is absent in asthmatic pregnancy that may interfere with physiological intrauterine growth. However, pregnancy-specific inhibition of asthmatic inflammation can be detected in uncomplicated asthmatic pregnancy.
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