Effects of polyvalent immunoglobulins in patients with recurrent pregnancy loss and antibodies to the choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3

Abstract

Objective: The benefit of polyvalent immunoglobulins (IVIG) for patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is controversially discussed. Anti-trophoblast antibodies as an expression of immune pathology have been associated with RPL. We investigated whether the antibody activity against the choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3 in RPL patients is influenced in vitro by IVIG.

Study design: Sera of 110 unexplained RPL patients with positive anti-JEG-3 antibodies were coincubated with IVIG in different concentrations (10mg/ml, 20mg/ml, 40mg/ml). Coincubation with human albumin in identical concentrations served as control. Anti-JEG-3 reactivity was measured by using flow cytometry in comparisons with two in-house standards antibody probes of low and high reactivity as described before. Anti-JEG-3 reactivity above the 95% confidence interval of controls was defined as positive.

Results: Incubating RPL sera with 10mg/ml IVIG significantly decreased anti-JEG-3 activity (p<0.001). Increasing IVIG concentration to 40mg/ml resulted in a slightly additionally reduction (p=0.42). In contrast, coincubation with albumin in identically concentrations did not affect anti-JEG-3 activity (p>0.40).

Conclusion: Coincubation with IVIG in vitro leads to a significant suppression of anti-JEG-3 activity in the sera of RPL patients.

Keywords: Immunoglobulins; JEG-3; Pregnancy loss; Recurrent miscarriages; Trophoblast antibodies.