Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the production of tumor ne
crosis factor (TNF) by peripheral blood cells during pregnancy, at the onse
t of labor and of spontaneous abortion (SA), as well as in non-pregnant wom
en with and without a history of recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSA). Stu
dy design: The peripheral blood cells TNF production was evaluated in 28 wo
men in the Ist trimester of pregnancy, 21 in the 2nd, and 30 in the 3rd, 47
at term labor; 43, at the onset of SA; 19 healthy and 19 RSA non-pregnant
women. The statistical method used was the Mann-Whitney test. Results: We o
bserved (1) lack of TNF detection in the Ist gestational trimester; (2) inc
rease of TNF production with gestational age, with the highest values being
observed at labor (P<0.05); (3) high TNF production at the onset of SA; (4
) no difference in the TNF production by healthy and RSA non-pregnant women
. Conclusions: The suppression of TNF production during the Ist trimester o
f pregnancy seems to favor the normal development of pregnancy. It remains
to be investigated whether the assessment of TNF production is a valuable p
rognostic parameter for the occurrence of abortion. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scien
ce Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.