Objective: To investigate the function of neutrophils in normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsia.
Design: Baseline levels and activated responses of peripheral blood neutrophils were measured in response to the physiological agonists, n-formyl-met-leu-phe (fMLP) and zymosan activated serum.
Sample: Neutrophils of 16 pre-eclamptic, 17 normal pregnant (third trimester) and 15 nonpregnant age-matched control women were calculated.
Setting: Antenatal Clinic, City Hospital, Nottingham.
Methods: Neutrophil superoxide anion production was determined by lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence; the release of secondary granule lactoferrin by ELISA; and the expression of cell surface adhesion molecules CD11b, CD18 and L-selectin (CD62L) by flow cytometric analysis.
Results: Superoxide anion generation was reduced in the pregnant group compared with nonpregnant controls [fMLP by 51% (P = 0.03) and zymosan activated serum by 56% (P = 0.01)] but pre-eclamptic measurements did not show a similar reduction. There were no differences between the three study groups in the plasma levels of lactoferrin, or in the stimulated expression and release of CD11b and CD18, or lactoferrin and L-selectin. The base-line levels for the production of superoxide anions; the expression of CD11b or CD18 or L-selectin; and the release of lactoferrin showed no significant differences.
Conclusions: Circulating neutrophils in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia are neither activated nor primed in vivo, however the release of reactive oxygen species is diminished in normal pregnancy. In comparison, an elevation of reactive oxygen generation in pre-eclampsia may highlight a role for neutrophils in the oxidative stress and pathophysiology of this disease.