Sera from 20 patients obtained within 24 hours and one week after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were tested for their immunomodulating effect on concanavalin-A (con-A) stimulated lymphocyte cultures from 11 healthy unrelated donors. Individual control sera from 21 healthy donors and 5 pools of control sera were used for comparison. Cortisol levels were tested in patients' and controls' sera. A significantly higher suppressive effect was seen in the presence of patients' sera taken at 24 hours than corresponding sera taken one week later. However, the suppressive effect after one week was increased as compared to control sera. A significant correlation between the degree of suppression and the cortisol level in corresponding sera was observed. An increased immunosuppression was observed with increased cortisol levels.
T cell subsets were defined with monoclonal antibodies of the OKT series, OKT3, OKT4 and OKT8, in 23 male and 22 female newborns and in their mothers 4–10 h after delivery. The data were compared and statistically evaluated between mother and newborn, between male and female newborns as well as between parity groups. The results indicate that the distribution of OKT4 and OKT8+ cells is different in mother and newborn and a significantly increased percentage of OKT4+ cells and a significantly decreased percentage of OKT3+ cells was observed in newborns as compared to their mothers after the first and second delivery. For maternal cells from male as compared to female newborns the percentage of OKT4+ was significantly decreased after the second delivery. OKT8+ cells in the mother were significantly decreased after the second as well as after three or more deliveries of male as compared to female newborns. With increasing parity the percentage of OKT3+, OKT4+ and OKT8+ cells decreased slowly for both sexes and the difference was significant between primi- and multiparae. The present findings suggest a possible role of the newborn sex and of parity in the distribution of specific T cell subsets in mother and newborn shortly after delivery.
One-way-stimulated mixed mother-newborn lymphocyte cultures (MMNLC) from male and female newborns were evaluated and compared shortly after delivery. Newborn sex-correlated differences were observed in the strength of the MMNLC reactivity with responding maternal as well as newborn cells. The reactivity of MMNLC with responding maternal cells from male as compared to female newborns was significantly less inhibited in maternal and newborn serum. The inhibitory effect of maternal serum on maternal and male newborn lymphocytes in MMNLC seems to be correlated to the sex of the previous child delivered and was significantly lower when the present as well as the previous baby were of the same sex, e.g. 2 boys. The results suggest that fetal-male-specific Y-chromosome-correlated histocompatibility antigens may specifically influence the maternal immune response to her fetus.
ABSTRACT: The levels of peripheral blood lymphocytes expressing the receptor for transferrin (TSR) on untreated and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)‐stimulated cell samples from maternal‐neonate pairs were evaluated 4–12 h postpartum. Significantly increased levels of TSR + cells were observed on fresh, unstimulated neonatal and maternal cells, as compared to control cells from young adult males and females, and the values seemed to correlate with the sex of the neonate and with birth order. The level of TSR + cells in culture was found to be increased on neonatal cells and decreased on maternal cells.
