Systemic Th1- and Th2-associated chemokines during and after pregnancy in relation to maternal allergic disease

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Abstracts / Journal of Reproductive Immunology 81 (2009) 113–175

P26 Systemic Th1- and Th2-associated chemokines during and after pregnancy in relation to maternal allergic disease M. Sandberg a , J. Ernerudh b , G. Berg c , L. Matthiesen d , C. Ekerfelt b , L.J. Nilsson e , M.C. Jenmalm b a

Division of Pediatrics, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, and Clinical Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden b Unit of Autoimmunity and Immune Regulation, Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden c Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden d Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden e Allergy Center, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden Prenatal exposure to a strong Th2-like environment could favour the development of Th2-like immune responses in the offspring. We have previously observed increased total IgE levels at gestational week 10 compared to 1 year after delivery in allergic, but not non-allergic, women, indicating that allergy is associated with a more pronounced Th2 deviation during pregnancy. The aim of this study is to characterize the systemic Th1- and Th2-associated chemokine levels during pregnancy and after delivery among allergic and non-allergic women. The chemokine levels were determined by a Luminex assay at five occasions during pregnancy (at gestational week 10–12, 15–16, 25, 35 and 39), and 2 and 12 months after delivery. Thirteen sensitized women with allergic symptoms and 30 non-sensitized women without allergic symptoms were included. The levels of the Th2-associated chemokines CCL17 and CCL22 changed over the course of pregnancy with a similar pattern for the allergic and the non-allergic women. The CCL17 and CCL22 levels, with the lowest levels found before delivery, decreased during the second and third trimester and then increased postpartum. In contrast, increased levels of the Th1-associated chemokine CXCL10 were noted at gestational week 39 compared to the first and second trimester. The CXCL10 levels were higher in the first than in the second trimester in non-allergic, but not in allergic, women. The decrease in the levels of the

Th2-associated chemokines CCL17 and CCL22 and the increase of the Th1-associated chemokine CXCL10 at gestational week 39 reflects the normal course of pregnancy, with an increased proinflammatory response close to delivery, and are not influenced by the allergic status of the mother. The absence of increased CXCL10 levels at gestational week 10 vs 25 in the allergic women might be associated with the increased IgE responses we previously observed in the first trimester in this group. doi:10.1016/j.jri.2009.06.232 P27 Soluble CD30 (sCD30) in normal pregnancy, preeclampsia and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) B. Gharesi-Fard a , J. Zolghadri b , F. Tavazoo b a

Department of Immunology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran b Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran Normal pregnancy is thought to be a Th2 deviation while, recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) and preeclampsia (PE) appears to be a biased toward Th1 immune response. The soluble form of CD30 (sCD30) is proposed to be an index of Th2 immune response or modulator of Th1/Th2 responses. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the sCD30 measurement in diagnosis of RSA and PE. We also investigated the influence of leukocyte therapy on the level of sCD30. In this study at first the sCD30 level have been checked in sera of a group of normal non-pregnant women (N = 40) and compared with normal pregnancy at the first (N = 30) and third (N = 30) trimester. Furthermore, the level of sCD30 in the normal first and third trimester pregnancy were compared with RSA (N = 30) and pre-eclamptic (N = 30) patients respectively. The level of sCD30 before and after leukocyte therapy was also checked in a group of RSA (N = 15) patients. sCD30 levels were checked by ELISA method and non-parametric Mann–Whitney test or T-test was used for statistical analysis. The mean level of sCD30 at the first trimester in normal pregnancy was significantly elevated as compared with normal nonpregnant women (5.4 ␮g/ml vs. 4.0 ␮g/ml, P < 0.002). A significant difference between sCD30 concentration at the first and third trimester of a normal pregnancy was also observed (5.4 ␮g/ml vs. 3.4 ␮g/ml, P < 0.001). Interestingly, the sCD30 concentration did not showed any significant changes at the first trimester of normal pregnancy as compared with RSA (5.4 ␮g/ml vs. 5.1 ␮g/ml),