THE EFFECT OF SALBUTAMOL TREATMENT ON THE CELLULAR-IMMUNITY OF THE OFFSPRING OF PREGNANT MICE - SPLEEN-CELL ACTIVITY

Preterm delivery is one of the greatest problems in obstetric care. On e of the most commonly used treatments for high risk cases is salbutam ol, a Bp-adrenoceptor agonist The aim of the present study was to dete rmine if such treatment causes any changes in the neonatal immune syst em which should therefore be a concern in the care of the newborn. The experiments were performed on 4 to 5 or 6 to 7-week old female and ma le offspring of salbutamol-treated C3H/W inbred mice. In the first par t of the study, the number of spleen cells, phenotypes and activity (p hytohemagglutinin-induced proliferation, ability to induce local graft versus host reaction) were determined. We observed lowering of cell n umber and lowered proportions of cluster of differentiation (CD)3, CD4 and CD8 positive lymphocytes in spleens of progeny of salbutamol-trea ted mice. However, CD4(+) to CD8(+) ration was higher in the progeny o f salbutamol-treated mothers than in the corresponding controls. In ad dition, reactivity to phytohemagglutinin and ability to induce local g raft vs. host reaction were higher (popliteal lymph node test) or undi sturbed (lymphocyte-induced angiogenesis test) in this group of mice.