Smoking during pregnancy influences the maternal immune response in mice and humans

• Published in: American journal of obstetrics and gynecology Vol. 207; no. 1; pp. 76.e1 - 76.e14
• Main Authors: Prins, Jelmer R., MD, Hylkema, Machteld N., PhD, Erwich, Jan Jaap H.M., PhD, Huitema, Sippie, Dekkema, Gerjan J, Dijkstra, Frank E, Faas, Marijke M., PhD, Melgert, Barbro N., PhD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Mosby, Inc 01-07-2012
• Subjects: Adult; Animals; Biomarkers - metabolism; Case-Control Studies; Decidua - cytology; Decidua - metabolism; Female; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Infant, Newborn; Killer Cells, Natural - metabolism; Lymph Nodes - cytology; macrophages; Macrophages - metabolism; Male; maternal immune system; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Models, Animal; natural killer cells; Obstetrics and Gynecology; Pregnancy - immunology; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; smoking; Smoking - adverse effects; Smoking - immunology; Spleen - cytology; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - metabolism; natural killer cells; macrophages; maternal immune system; smoking
• ISSN: 0002-9378; 1097-6868
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2012.04.017

Objective During pregnancy the maternal immune system has to adapt its response to accommodate the fetus. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of smoking on the maternal immune system. Study Design First-trimester decidual tissue and peripheral blood of smoking and nonsmoking women were analyzed by real time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry. A mouse model was used to further analyze the effects of smoking. Murine tissue was analyzed by flow cytometry, real-time RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry. Results Smoking caused lower percentages of viable pups in mice and lower birthweights in humans. Smoking mothers, both mice and human, had more natural killer cells and inflammatory macrophages locally, whereas systemically they had lower percentages of regulatory T cells than nonsmoking controls. Conclusion Maternal smoke exposure during pregnancy influences local and systemic immune responses in both women and mice. Such changes may be involved in adverse pregnancy outcomes in smoking individuals.