Pregnancy-induced fluctuations in functional T-cell subsets in multiple sclerosis patients

Abstract

Third trimester amelioration is not related to the fluctuation of circulating Th17 cells. Furthermore, a paradoxical decrease of immunosuppressive circulating Tregs can be observed during this phase, both in MS patients and controls.

Sex-related factors in multiple sclerosis susceptibility and progression

“…Serum interleukin 8 (IL8) has been shown to decrease during MS pregnancy 65 . Two small studies in MS pregnancy showed an increase 66 or a decrease 67 in T regulatory cells and no change in Th17 T cells 67 . The larger Finish study showed no effect of MS pregnancy on T regulatory cell percentage, but rather an increase in CD56 bright NK cells, during pregnancy with a decrease post partum 42 .…”

Pregnancy-associated diseases are characterized by the composition of the systemic regulatory T cell (Treg) pool with distinct subsets of Tregs

“…Blood samples were obtained from 31 non-pregnant fertile female volunteers (group A), 135 healthy pregnant women during the normal course of pregnancy [group 1 (11)(12)(13)(14) weeks' gestation, group 2 (15-23 weeks' gestation), group 3 (24-36 weeks' gestation), group 4 (37 42 weeks' gestation)], 27 pregnant women affected by pre-eclampsia (group 5, 27-39 weeks' gestation), 15 pregnant women affected by haemolysis-elevated liver enzyme levels-low platelet count syndrome (HELLP) syndrome (group 6, 24-39 weeks' gestation) and 54 pregnant women affected by preterm intrauterine activation (23-36 weeks' gestation) which was diagnosed in the presence of cervical insufficiency or preterm labour. All these women received tocolytic and corticoid treatment until fetal lung maturity (34 weeks' gestation) was achieved.…”

“…Earlier studies document increased Treg cell counts in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women [9], while more recently it was postulated that Treg cell counts decreased during the normal course of pregnancy Clinical and Experimental Immunology ORIGINAL ARTICLE doi:10.1111/j. 1365-2249.2011.04493.x [10][11][12]. Obviously, the number of Tregs depends strongly on the gating strategy by which the Tregs were characterized after staining cells for flow cytometric analysis and on the moment at which the Treg cell numbers were determined during the course of pregnancy.…”

Regulatory T Helper Cells in Pregnancy and their Roles in Systemic versus Local Immune Tolerance

“…Taken together, there is now ample evidence that the circulating Treg population is not increased in size during pregnancy 55,79,80,[88][89][90][91] and circulating Treg cells show normal suppressive function during pregnancy. 55 An increase in circulating Treg numbers or suppressive capacity would indeed be dangerous considering their unspecific suppressive capacity and the importance of protecting the mother and her fetus from infections.…”

“…90 In a study on patients with multiple sclerosis, it was shown that the frequency of Treg cells decreased during pregnancy compared with post-partum, and in line with previous observations, this was also the case in pregnant control women. 91 How can the Maternal Immune System Both Induce Fetal Tolerance and Sustain a Strong Antimicrobial Response?…”