Involvement of T lymphocytes in the placentae with villitis of unknown etiology from pregnancies complicated with preeclampsia

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare immunohistochemical expression of different T type lymphocytes in foci of villitis of placentae with villitis of unknown etiology (VUE) without and with preeclampsia (PE).

Methods: Fifty-four placentae were collected from women who had VUE with (N = 27) and without (N = 27) PE. Immunohistochemistry for types of T lymphocytes was performed on formalin fixed and paraffin-embedded sections by use of the CD3, CD4, FOXP3, CD25, CD8 and CD68 antibodies. All data analyses were done by R Development Core Team.

Results: There was higher immunohistochemical CD4 positive T lymphocyte count and CD4 positive/CD8 positive ratio in placentae with VUE complicated with PE compared to control group.

Conclusion: The higher immunohistochemical CD4 positive T lymphocyte count and CD4 positive/CD8 positive ratio in placentae with VUE complicated with PE could point to their role in ethiopathogenesis of PE.

• Preeclampsia
• T lymphocytes
• villitis of unknown etiology

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank prof. Antonija Redovniković for her kind assistance with language editing, and Žarko Bajić, Biometrica Healthcare Research, for his assistance in statistics.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.