Placental Thrombosis and Fetal Loss After Passive Transfer of Mouse Lupus Monoclonal or Human Polyclonal Anti‐Cardiolipin Antibodies in Pregnant Naive BALB/c Mice

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Abstract
In the present study we evaluated the effect of passive transfer of a mouse monoclonal (CAM) or a human polyclonal anti‐cardiolipin IgG on pregnancy outcome in BALB/c mice. The mice were immunized through the tail vein immediately after mating with 10 μg of monoclonal or polyclonal anti‐cardiolipin antibodies. Two other groups of mice were given a mouse irrelevant monoclonal antibody or normal human polyclonal IgG respectively, at the same dose. In mice immunized with monoclonal or polyclonal anti‐cardiolipin antibody we observed a significant increase in the number of fetal resorptions and a significant reduction of the mean weights of the embryos and the placentas. In mice immunized with CAM we also found a significant decrease in the number of healthy pups, while mice infused with human aCL antibody expressed a significant reduction in the fecundity rate. The histological examination showed widespread thrombosis and necrosis in the placentas derived from the mice immunized with the anti‐cardiolipin antibodies. The model supports a possible direct pathogenetic effect of anti‐phospholipid antibodies in recurrent fetal loss and points out that thrombotic events at placental level can be instrumental in the pathogenesis of the obstetric complications.