Macrophage inhibiting factor in women with habitual miscarriage in pregnancy following immunocytotherapy

The aim of our study was to evaluate the macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) content of in peripheral blood serum, as well as MIF production by mitogen-stimulated cells from whole peripheral blood during pregnancy in women with idiopathic recurrent miscarriage who received immunocytotherapy both prior to and in the first trimester of pregnancy. The study involved 51 women 20 to 40 years old: 10 fertile healthy females beyond pregnancy, 23 women with idiopathic recurrent miscarriage (IRM), 18 women with a physiological course of pregnancy at different stages of gestation (12, in the first trimester; 12, in the second; 9, in third trimester). MIF content was assessed by multiplex analysis using flow fluorometry. Of 23 women with IRM, six lost their pregnancy in the first trimester, 14 women prolonged pregnancy to the full-term resulting into birth of a healthy child; three had premature births at 24 to 35 weeks with a live fetus. There were no intergroup differences in the serum MIF level in control women and in patients with IRM, both beyond and during pregnancy. However, the dynamics of this index during pregnancy, was similar with increase during the II and III trimesters in both groups of women (control and with IRM). During pregnancy, the dynamics of MIF production by mitogen-activated cells from peripheral blood was also similar, except for values in the II trimester: in this period, MIF production in women with IRM was significantly lower, although it was still increased 3 times compared to the 1st trimester (5-fold to controls). In women with physiological pregnancy, the serum MIF levels at 5 to 6 weeks were lower than in women in both IRM subgroups, but there was no difference in MIF content for women with miscarriage and full-term pregnancy. Similarly, there were no differences of MIF contents in the supernates of activated whole blood cells of women at the time of study within groups and between the groups at the same time of examination. It has been shown that ICT has a positive effect on the course and outcomes of pregnancy in women with pregnancy prolonged to full-term. The serum MIF content in women with full-term pregnancy is higher than in women with miscarriage, which is consistent with results of other authors about adverse developmental effects of low serum MIF levels at early pregnancy terms. The results obtained indicate that immunocytotherapy do not regularly promote pregnancy to full term in women with IPV. Therefore, further research is required to find out criteria for administering ICT in treatment of idiopathic recurrent miscarriage.