Feto-maternal relationship in normal pregnancy in mixed lymphocyte cultures

In eight wife-husband pairs during the whole pregnancy the reactivity of lymphocytes to PHA, to lymphocytes of unrelated donor and to lymphocytes of husband was studied. No statistically significant differences were found in reactivity of wife's and husband's lymphocytes. In eleven women at delivery a statistically significant decline of MLC reaction to lymphocytes of own and unrelated newborn was found, while the reactivity to PHA and to lymphocytes of unrelated adult donor remained unchanged. Similarly, the lymphocytes of eleven newborn infants reacted statistical significantly less to lymphocytes of own mother and unrelated mother, while the reaction to PHA and to lymphocytes of unrelated donor was well expressed.