A Factor in Maternal Plasma during Pregnancy That Suppresses the Reactivity of Mixed Leukocyte Cultures

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Abstract
Blood samples were obtained from 50 primiparous mothers immediately after delivery and from 18 primigravidas after the 12th to 38th weeks of gestation. Maternal specimens were also obtained during the early puerperium. Cord blood from full-term newborns was collected at the end of the second stage of labor. The effects of pregnancy and fetal plasmas on the reactivity of mixed leukocyte cultures from both mother-newborn pairs and unrelated pairs were studied. Control plasmas were taken from adult females who had no previous history of pregnancy or blood transfusion and from non-pregnant primiparas. a) MLC from both maternal-newborn pairs and unrelated adult pairs had consistently diminished reactions in test pregnancy plasma when compared with control plasma. b) Pregnancy plasmas of longer gestation times were more inhibitory. c) This inhibitory activity reached a maximum at the time of delivery and disappeared a few days later. d) Control maternal plasmas from non-pregnant primiparas were not inhibitory. e) Fetal plasma also suppressed the reactivity of MLC from mother-newborn pairs. Unlike maternal plasma, fetal plasma did not significantly affect the reactivity of MLC from unrelated adult pairs.

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