Comparison of the percentages of CD4+ CD25high FOXP3+ , CD4+ CD25low FOXP3+ , and CD4+ FOXP3+ Tregs, in the umbilical cord blood of babies born to mothers with and without preeclampsia

Farha El-Chennawi; Ibrahim Mohamed Rageh; Amira Ibrahim Mansour; Mohammed Ibrahim Darwish; Ashraf Antar Elghzaly; Basma El Sayed Sakr; Khaled Mohsen Elbaz

doi:10.1111/aji.12761

Comparison of the percentages of CD4⁺ CD25^high FOXP3⁺ , CD4⁺ CD25^low FOXP3⁺ , and CD4⁺ FOXP3⁺ Tregs, in the umbilical cord blood of babies born to mothers with and without preeclampsia

Am J Reprod Immunol. 2017 Dec;78(6). doi: 10.1111/aji.12761. Epub 2017 Sep 16.

Authors

Farha El-Chennawi¹, Ibrahim Mohamed Rageh², Amira Ibrahim Mansour², Mohammed Ibrahim Darwish¹, Ashraf Antar Elghzaly¹, Basma El Sayed Sakr³, Khaled Mohsen Elbaz⁴

Affiliations

¹ Clinical and Chemical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
² Clinical and Chemical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Benha, Egypt.
³ Gynecology and Obstetrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Benha, Egypt.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Benha, Egypt.

PMID: 28921730
DOI: 10.1111/aji.12761

Abstract

Problem: Little is known about how preeclampsia affects regulatory T-cell count and functions in umbilical cord blood of babies born to preeclamptic mothers. Here, we analyze the percentage of CD4⁺ CD25^high FOXP3⁺ , CD4⁺ CD25^low FOXP3⁺ , and CD4⁺ FOXP3⁺ Tregs, in the umbilical cord blood of babies born to mothers with and without preeclampsia.

Method of study: The percentage of umbilical cord blood CD4⁺ CD25^high FOXP3⁺ , CD4⁺ CD25^low FOXP3⁺ , and CD4⁺ FOXP3⁺ Tregs were analyzed by flow cytometry.

Results: CD4⁺ CD25^high FOXP3⁺ Treg (%) and CD4⁺ FOXP3⁺ Treg (%) were significantly lower, while CD4⁺ CD25^low (%) was significantly higher in umbilical cord blood of babies born to preeclamptic mothers.

Conclusion: Preeclampsia is associated with immune dysregulation which leads to a deficiency in Treg (CD4⁺ CD25^high FOXP3⁺ ) in the umbilical cord blood of babies born to preeclamptic mothers.

Keywords: FOXP3; flow cytometry; preeclampsia; regulatory T cells; umbilical cord blood.

MeSH terms

Adult
CD4 Antigens / metabolism
Case-Control Studies
Cell Separation
Female
Fetal Blood / cytology*
Flow Cytometry
Forkhead Transcription Factors / metabolism
Humans
Immunophenotyping
Infant, Newborn
Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / metabolism
Pre-Eclampsia / immunology*
Pregnancy
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology*
Young Adult

Substances

CD4 Antigens
FOXP3 protein, human
Forkhead Transcription Factors
Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit