[The preliminary study on cord blood lymphocytes apoptosis in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy].

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a disease happening during pregnancy and does a great harm to the fetus. The etiology and pathogenesis of ICP are not clear. It is very important to investigate the relationship between ICP cord blood lymphocytes (CBLs) apoptosis and its clinical significance. METHODS: The CBLs were isolated from 20 patients with ICP and 20 normal pregnant women. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect the apoptosis cells in the CBLs. The apoptosis regulatory molecules (Fas/FasL, Bcl-2) of CBLs were detected by immunohistochemical technique. RESULTS: The percentage of apoptotic CBLs in ICP patients were significantly lower than that in the normal pregnant women (P < 0.05). The FasL protein expression of CBLs in ICP patients was significantly higher than that in normal pregnant women (P < 0.05), but Fas and Bcl-2 protein expression were normal. CONCLUSION: The abnormal apoptosis of CBLs may influence the immune reaction of ICP patients, which does something in the pathogenesis of ICP.