INVESTIGADORES
ARRUVITO Maria Lourdes
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
TREG CELLS ARE HIGHLY REGULATED THROUGH THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE: IMPLICATIONS FOR THEIR EFFECTS DURING PREGNANCY
Autor/es:
ARRUVITO L; BARBOSA M; SANZ M; FAINBOIM L
Lugar:
Graz. Austria
Reunión:
Congreso; 4th European Congress of Reproductive Immunology.; 2006
Resumen:
To investigate the regulation of regulatory T (Treg) cells by sexual hormones, we measured by flow cytometry the frequency of CD4+CD25+ and FoxP3 during the menstrual cycle. We found a strong relationship between levels of estradiol and numbers of Treg.  In control healthy women, the level of CD4+CD25+ cells and FoxP3 at late follicular phase was increased in comparison with the luteal phase (21.76 ± 1. 45 vs. 16.43 ± 0.709, p<0.0006 and 6.143 ± 0.395 vs. 3.77± 0.42 p=0.0006 respectively; n=31). It is known that Treg are expanded during normal pregnancy. In this study, recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSA) patients depicted a limited expansion of Treg along the follicular phase (CD4+CD25+:15.95 ± 1.44; FoxP3: 2.91 ± 0.40 n=36). In spite of the fall of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ observed at the luteal phase of healthy women, its frequency was still higher in relationship with the luteal phase of RSA patients            (17.62±. 0.36 n=74 vs 15.44 ± 0.47 n=90, p=0.0002). These results were confirmed by analyzing their suppressor activity in functional studies. Hereby, we demonstrate that Treg suffer profound changes along the menstrual cycle that could affect women immunoregulation. A disregulation at this level in RSA patients might contribute to their reproductive failure. Additionally, those results should be considered when Treg are investigated in the clinical setting.