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Humoral immunity in oral contraceptive users. II. In vitro immunoglobulin production
1Department of Microbiology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Abstract:
The worldwide acceptance of steroid-based oral contraception makes it imperative that the effect of these agents on the immune system is understood. Nevertheless, information regarding the effect of steroid-based oral contraception on humoral immunoregulation is limited. In this report the in vitro production of IgG and IgM is measured following stimulation with either the T-dependent activator pokeweed mitogen (PWM) or the T-independent activator fixed/killed Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I (StaCw). No significant differences are observed between the in vitro IgG or IgM levels following stimulation with PWM or StaCw for females taking steroid-based oral contraceptives and females not taking steroid-based oral contraceptives. We conclude that humoral immunoregulation is unaltered in steroid-based oral contraceptive users.