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Butyrylcholinesterase Activity and Pregnancy‐Associated Differences in Immunologically Relevant Peripheral Blood Leukocyte Populations
Author(s) -
Mahmoud Fadia,
Haines David,
Abul Habib,
Omu Alexander
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of reproductive immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.071
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1600-0897
pISSN - 1046-7408
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0897.2003.00043.x
Subject(s) - pregnancy , butyrylcholinesterase , medicine , endocrinology , il 2 receptor , flow cytometry , immunology , enzyme , biology , t cell , aché , immune system , biochemistry , genetics , acetylcholinesterase
Problem: Toxic anticholinesterases (AC) are known contributors to negative pregnancy outcome. Impairment of detoxification mechanisms may correlate with occurrence of pregnancy disorders in Kuwait. Method of Study: Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), an enzyme which detoxifies AC was evaluated in 18 Kuwaiti women with pregnancy‐induced hypertension (PIH), compared with 15 healthy pregnant and eight healthy non‐pregnant women. T‐lymphocyte subpopulations were measured by flow cytometry, and BuChE activity was measured by spectrophotometry. Results: Unlike the PIH group, the normal pregnancy group exhibited a significant increase in BuChE activity compared with non‐pregnant control subjects ( P = 0.04). Within the PIH cohort, inverse correlations were observed between BuChE activity and percentage of CD4 + CD25 + cells ( P = 0.001), and CD8 + CD25 + cells ( P = 0.007). Conclusions: Elevated BuChE activity in normal pregnancy may correlate with better ability to clear pregnancy‐threatening toxins, while lesser ability to do this in PIH women may be a contributor to disease. The fact that PIH subjects with large subpopulations of activated T cells also exhibited low BuChE activity further suggests a correlation between susceptibility to pregnancy loss and decreased activity of the enzyme.