Comparison of Lymphocyte Transformation in Normotensive and Preeclamptic Women

Abstract
Background: Preeclampsia is a severe form of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy with multisystemic effects. Although the exact aetiology is not known, lymphocyte response during preeclampsia may be a cause or effect. Objectives: To determine if or not lymphocyte transformation occurs in normal pregnancy and in preeclampsia and compare results between the two.

Method: This was a cross-sectional comparative study. Two millilitres of venous blood was obtained from 37 preeclamptic women and 38 normal pregnant women. Phytohaemagglutinin was used to induce lymphocyte transformation after determining the baseline count. Data analysis was with Graphpad prism 7.1. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Forty women were recruited in each group of normotensive and preeclamptic patients from which 38 and 37 samples respectively were eligible for analysis. The mean baseline lymphocyte count was not statistically different between the two groups (p = 0.5731). There was no significant increase in lymphocyte transformation with phytohemagglutinin in and between the groups (p= 0.335).

Conclusion and Recommendation: During normal pregnancy and in preeclampsia, there was no increase in lymphocyte activity noted. Further research on lymphocyte subpopulation and uterine natural killer cells activity in pregnancy is recommended using modern technology.

Keywords: Lymphocytes, transformation, phytohemagglutinin, preeclampsia