Full Papers
Increased microchimerism in peripheral blood of women with systemic lupus erythematosus: relation with pregnancy
E.M. Bos1, E.C. Rijnink2, M. Zandbergen3, J.D. Diaz De Pool4, M.M. Almekinders5, J.H. Berden6, M. Bijl7, E.C. Hagen8, C. Kolster-Bijdevaate9, G.M. Steup-Beekman10, R. Wolterbeek11, K.W. Bloemenkamp12, H.J. Baelde13, J.A. Bruijn14, I.M. Bajema15, S. Wilhelmus16
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. e.m.j.bos@lumc.nl
- Department of Internal Medicine, Haaglanden Medical Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Obstetrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pathology, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Nephrology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Martini Hospital, Groningen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Nephrology, Meander Medical Center, Amersfoort, The Netherlands.
- Department of Obstetrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, and Haaglanden Medical Center Bronovo, The Hague, The Netherlands.
- Department of Medical Statistics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Obstetrics, Birth Centre Wilhelmina’s Children Hospital, Division Woman and Baby, University Medical Centre Utrecht, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, and Pathan B.V., Laboratory for Pathology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
CER15186
2022 Vol.40, N°11
PI 2153, PF 2160
Full Papers
PMID: 35579081 [PubMed]
Received: 23/09/2021
Accepted : 17/01/2022
In Press: 29/04/2022
Published: 05/11/2022
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
We aimed to determine the presence, amount and origin of microchimerism in peripheral blood of pregnant and non-pregnant parous women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as compared to control subjects.
METHODS:
We performed a comparative study in which peripheral blood was drawn from eleven female non-pregnant SLE-patients and 22 control subjects, and from six pregnant SLE-patients and eleven control subjects during gestation and up to six months postpartum. Quantitative PCR for insertion-deletion polymorphisms and null alleles was used to detect microchimerism in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and granulocytes.
RESULTS:
Microchimerism was detected more often in non-pregnant SLE-patients than control subjects (54.4% vs. 13.6%, respectively; p=0.03). When present, the median total number of foetal chimeric cells was 5 gEq/106 in patients and 2.5gEq/106 in control subjects (p=0.048). Microchimerism was mostly foetal in origin; maternal microchimerism was detected in one patient and one control subject. In control subjects, microchimerism was always derived from only one source whereas in 50% of patients it originated from multiple sources. The pregnant patients had a significantly higher median number of foetal chimeric cells in the granulocyte fraction just after delivery than control subjects (7.5 gEq/106 vs. 0 gEq/106, respectively; p=0.02).
CONCLUSIONS:
Just after delivery, SLE-patients had more microchimerism than control subjects. Three months post-partum, microchimerism was no longer detectable, only to reappear many years after the last pregnancy, more often and at higher levels in SLE-patients than in control subjects. This suggests that these chimeric cells may originate from non-circulating foetal chimeric stem cells.