Proportional change of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells after lymphocyte therapy in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion patients

Objective To investigate the proportional changes of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood after lymphocyte therapy in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) patients. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting University Hospital. Patient(s) Twenty-five URSA patients. Intervention(s) Measurements of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood before and after paternal or third-party lymphocyte immunization. Main Outcome Measure(s) The proportion of CD4+ CD25bright regulatory T cells and the percentage of CD25bright cells in the CD4+ T-cell population. Result(s) The proportion of CD4+ CD25bright T cells in peripheral blood from URSA patients was increased significantly after paternal or third-party lymphocyte immunization therapy, whereas the percentage of CD4+ CD25dim cells were decreased significantly. The percentage of CD4+ CD25bright cells in the CD4+ T-cell population was significantly increased, and the proportion of CD4+ CD25bright T cells was significantly higher in successfully pregnant women than in those with pregnancy loss after lymphocyte therapy. Conclusion(s) Allogeneic lymphocyte therapy can enhance the percentage of CD4+ CD25bright regulatory T cells in peripheral blood, therefore CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells may serve as a novel biomarker for monitoring allogeneic lymphocyte therapy in URSA patients.