Tumor necrosis factor in early pregnancy

P 87

83

TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR IN EARLY PREGNANCY

H.J. VOIGT and L. STEIB, Department of obstretics and gynecology, U n i v e r s i t y of Erlangen, U n i v e r s i t ~ t s s t r . 2i-23, D-8520 Erlang~n Regarding the fetus as an allograft trying to explain the phenomenon effects

are to be discussed.

the cellular

necrosis

Cytokines

defense are recently

immunradiometric factor

assays

in a h a p l o d i f f e r e n t

of nonrejection

shown to be measurable

in healthy women with an early pregnancy

the pregnant group was clearly different

finding

(p
against the t r o p h o b l a s t

enable early

Means of 2,5 pg/ml in

from i6,2 pg/ml in the

We tend to interpret this preliminary

as a hint for a suppression

TNF-elpha

in new

serum levels of the tumor

and in a control group of nonpregnant women.

control group

and

known as activity markers of

(IRMA). We tested

(TNF-alpha)

mother

immunsuppressive

of the .macrophage activation

in favour of an undisturbed

as an important

a new d i f f e r t i a t e d

parameter

pregnancy.

of cytokin diagnostics

view on the i m m u n o l o g i c a l

may

defense

in

pregnancy.

Keywords:

tumor necrosis

factor;

cytokines;

early

pregnancy.

P 88 CYTOKINES AND NATURAL EFFECTOR CELLS IN SUCCESSFUL AND ABORTIVE PREGNANCIES IN IMMUNODEFICIENT SCID AND DBA2-MATED CBA/J MICE. D.A. CLARK I, D.K. BANWATTI, J. MANUEL I and G. FULOP 2. IMcMaster University,

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 2Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. SCID mice lacking functional T and B c e l l s have been employed to test two major theories of maternal-fetal r e l a t i o n s . Theory #I suggests that spontaneous resorption (abortion) is due to a n t i g e n - s p e c i f i c g r a f t r e j e c t i o n mechanisms that can attack the " f e t a l a l l o g r a f t " when there is a local deficiency of trophoblast -dependent non-T suppressor c e l l s in decidua. Theory #2 holds that prevention of abortion (and hence successful pregnancy) depends upon recognition of antigens growth. Using SClD mice, we f i n d that successful pregnancy can occur in the absence of T c e l l s and that resorption can also occur in some mice, dependent upon background genotype and associated with a deficiency of local suppression (but not growth factor a c t i v i t y ) . Both pregnant SCID and non SCID-CBA/J mice possess non-specific asialo-GM1+ k i l l e r c e l l s that can lyse trophoblast c e l l l i n e targets. K i l l e r a c t i v i t y was found in decidua at resorption s i t e s . TNF-a production was greater in abortion-prone CBA/J decidua and developed at an accelerated rate compared to s i m i l a r l y mated C3H mice. Suppressor a c t i v i t y varies between mice and between implant sites w i t h i n the same uterus; the least " w e l l defended" implants appear to succumb. Suppression is mediated by a novel cytokine related to TGF-@2. In v i t r o studies showed the suppressor f a c t o r could i n h i b i t generation of a n t i - t r o p h o b l a s t k i l l e r c e l l s . Older theories may be replaced by the hypothesis that abortion is mediated by natural e f f e c t o r c e l l s that can attack the conceptus when local suppression is d e f i c i e n t . (MRC supported) Keywords: spontaneous abortion, TGF-beta suppressor f a c t o r , natural e f f e c t o r c e l l s