ABSTRACT
Normal pregnancy is thought to be dependent on Th2 deviation, while Recurrent Pregnancy Loss [RPL] and Pre-eclampsia [PE] appear to be biased toward the Th1 immune response. It is believed that the soluble form of CD30 [sCD30] is an index of Th2 immune response or modulator of Th1/Th2 responses. The aim of this study was determination of the sCD30 level in RPL and PE patients. The sCD30 level was measured in sera of a group of normal non-pregnant women [N=43] and compared with normal pregnancy at the first [N=42] and third [N=42] trimester. Furthermore, the level of sCD30 in the normal first and third trimester pregnancies were compared with that of RPL [N=38] and severe pre-eclamptic [N=41] patients, respectively. sCD30 levels were measured by ELISA method and student t-test was used for statistical analysis. The mean level of sCD30 at the first trimester in normal pregnancy was significantly elevated as compared with normal non-pregnant women [21.4 vs. 15.2 ng/ml, p<0.0001]. A significant difference between sCD30 concentration at the first and third trimester of normal pregnancies was also observed [21.4 vs. 14.3 ng/ml, p<0.0001]. Interestingly, the sCD30 concentration did not show any significant changes at the first trimester of normal pregnancy as compared with RPL [21.4 vs. 20.9 ng/ml] and third trimester of normal pregnancy as compared with PE [14.3 vs. 13.1 ng/ml]. The data of this study indicated that the concentration of sCD30 in serum during pregnancy period is not associated with RPL or PE and serum sCD30 is not a good correlate of Th2 immune responses in pregnancy