Altered expression of TCR-CD3ζ induced by sera from women with preeclampsia

Objective: To investigate TCR-CD3ζ expression by cultured T lymphocytes exposed to midtrimester sera from pregnant women in whom preeclampsia developed at term compared with normotensive pregnant control subjects. Study Design: Sera obtained at 24 to 28 weeksʹ gestation from 16 nulliparous women in whom preeclampsia developed at term and from 32 gestational age-matched control subjects without preeclampsia were evaluated for TCR-CD3ζ chain expression with use of Jurkat cells. Subsets of serum samples from 6 women with preeclampsia and 6 control subjects were then evaluated for their ability to induce apoptosis and to suppress interleukin-2 production. Groups were compared by use of the Kruskal-Wallis test, and P< .05 was considered significant. Results: TCR-CD3ζ chain expression in cultured T lymphocytes was suppressed in approximately 60% of untreated control subjects after incubation with sera from normotensive pregnant women compared with 30% after incubation with sera from women with preeclampsia (P< .001). T-cell apoptosis was significantly higher after incubation with sera from normotensive control subjects, as was the expression of the proapoptotic regulator Bax, compared with sera from women with preeclampsia. Interleukin-2 levels were higher in T cells incubated with sera from women in whom preeclampsia later developed compared with sera from normotensive pregnant women (27.7 ng/mL versus 72.5 ng/mL; P< .001). Conclusions: Nulliparous women in whom preeclampsia developed did not suppress TCR-CD3ζ levels to the extent of normotensive control subjects, which may be linked to decreased lymphocyte apoptosis. This occurs remotely from the manifestation of clinical disease and suggests a deficiency in a serum factor in preeclampsia that may induce T cell ζ chain suppression in normal pregnancy. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;185: 812-18.)