Changes in lymphocyte status and responsiveness in pregnancy detected by a fluorescent cell probe

Lymphocyte reactivity assessed by a fluorescent lipophilic probe test of responsiveness to concanavalin A (con A) was shown to differ from normal in early pregnancy. The difference was most marked in multiparas. Abnormal reactivity was detected in the earliest pregnancy examined (5 weeks' gestation) and up to about the 20th week; after 20 weeks, reactivity was normal in all of the multiparas and most of the nulliparas studied. However, in pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), a disorder of late pregnancy, the same responsiveness as in early pregnancy was found. When unstimulated lymphocytes were examined, abnormal reactivity associated with increased fluorescence was observed in early pregnancy and in PIH, compared with normal late pregnancy, reflecting alteration in lymphocyte membrane phospholipids. It is postulated that pregnancy is associated with sequential change in immunity, disturbance of which may result in immunologically-determined obstetric morbidity.