T lymphocyte subpopulations and lymphocyte proliferative activity in normal and pre-eclamptic pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to assess whether any changes occur in the cellular immunity in normal and pre-eclamptic pregnancy. T lymphocyte subpopulations and the lymphocyte proliferative responses to mitogens (PHA, Con A, PWM) in the fetal calf serum were examined in normal pregnant and pre-eclamptic primiparas in the third trimester of pregnancy. In normal pregnancy the absolute and percentage numbers of CD3+ and CD4+ T cells were significantly lower and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio almost halved, in comparison with non-pregnant subjects. In the pre-eclamptic women a decreased absolute and percentage content of CD8+ T cells and increased percentage of CD3+ and CD4+ lymphocytes were found--in comparison with the normal pregnant women--which led to an almost 2.5-fold increase of the CD4+/CD8+ ratio. No disorders were found in the lymphocyte proliferative responses to mitogens in either normal or pre-eclamptic pregnancy. We conclude that despite the shifts among T lymphocyte subsets, mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation presents its functional stability and unchanged reactivity in normal and pre-eclamptic pregnancy.