Disappearance of clonally expanded T cells after allogeneic leukocyte immunotherapy in peripheral blood of patients with habitual abortion

Allogeneic leukocyte immunotherapy is often used to improve fertility of pa tients with habitual abortion (HA), which probably acts through immune-medi ated mechanisms. However, the involvement of T cells is not clear. This Stu dy examined the effect of allogeneic immunotherapy on T cells of patients w ith HA. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from 5 healthy wom en and 14 women with HA. RNA was isolated from mononuclear blood cells. Rev erse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), followed by single-s trand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) were used to analyze the gene segm ents of T-cell receptor P chain (TCR betaV) variable regions. Oligoclonal a ccumulation of T cells was identified in peripheral blood of nonpregnant pa tients with a history of HA. It was also revealed, however, that immunostim ulation reduced the number of accumulating T-cell clones (p = 0.0004). The results, together with the clinical effectiveness of immunotherapy, suggest that accumulation of T-cell clonotypes, which probably resulted from antig enic stimulation, is involved in the pathogenesis of HA. (C) American Socie ty for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 2001. Published by Elsevier S cience Inc.