Abstract
Background
There is little available data on fetal monocyte phenotype and function. A prospective cross-sectional pilot study was conducted to describe the cord blood monocyte subset phenotype in preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR) as compared to normal pregnancy and maternal circulation.
Methods
Maternal and cord blood samples from 27 pregnancies were collected at delivery from normal pregnancy, PE, FGR and PE+FGR. The distribution of fetal monocyte subtypes was characterized by CD14 and CD16 expression using flow cytometry and compared for each clinical group using a classification of classical, intermediate and non-classical subsets.
Results
The intermediate monocytes were the dominant monocyte subset in the cord blood of PE and PE+FGR with an increase in the combined inflammatory monocyte subsets intermediate and non-classical in PE compared to normal pregnancy. The non-classical monocyte subset proportion was elevated in all pathological groups PE, FGR and PE+FGR. A significant reduction in the non-classical monocyte subset was observed in the cord blood of the normal pregnancy group as compared to the maternal circulation.
Conclusion
This study describes for the first time in the fetal circulation, dominant monocyte intermediate subsets and increased inflammatory subsets in PE as well as increased non-classical subsets in PE and FGR compared to normal pregnancy.
Author contributions: TIA and VL conceived and designed the study. TIA carried out the experiments and drafted the manuscript. HM, HW and NF participated in designing the study, optimisation steps. XW performed the flow cytometry analysis. All authors critically revised the draft and approved the final manuscript. All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: This work was supported by Ella Macnight Research Scholarship, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (RANZCOG) Research Foundation.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organisation(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
References
1. Ziegler-Heitbrock L, Ancuta P, Crowe S, Dalod M, Grau V, Hart DN, et al. Nomenclature of monocytes and dendritic cells in blood. Blood 2010;116:e74–80.10.1182/blood-2010-02-258558Search in Google Scholar
2. Ziegler-Heitbrock L. The CD14+ CD16+ blood monocytes: their role in infection and inflammation. J Leukoc Biol 2007;81:584–92.10.1189/jlb.0806510Search in Google Scholar
3. Sohlberg E, Saghafian-Hedengren S, Bremme K, Sverremark-Ekstrom E. Cord blood monocyte subsets are similar to adult and show potent peptidoglycan-stimulated cytokine responses. Immunology 2011;133:41–50.10.1111/j.1365-2567.2011.03407.xSearch in Google Scholar
4. Alahakoon TI, Medbury H, Williams H, Fewings N, Wang XM, Lee VW. Distribution of monocyte subsets and polarization in preeclampsia and intrauterine fetal growth restriction. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 2018;44:2135–48.10.1111/jog.13770Search in Google Scholar
5. Krow-Lucal ER, Kim CC, Burt TD, McCune JM. Distinct functional programming of human fetal and adult monocytes. Blood 2014;123:1897–904.10.1182/blood-2013-11-536094Search in Google Scholar
6. Pedraza-Sanchez S, Hise AG, Ramachandra L, Arechavaleta-Velasco F, King CL. Reduced frequency of a CD14+ CD16+ monocyte subset with high Toll-like receptor 4 expression in cord blood compared to adult blood contributes to lipopolysaccharide hyporesponsiveness in newborns. Clin Vaccine Immunol 2013;20:962–71.10.1128/CVI.00609-12Search in Google Scholar
7. Tranquilli AL, Dekker G, Magee L, Roberts J, Sibai BM, SteynW, et al. The classification, diagnosis and management of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a revised statement from the ISSHP. Pregnancy Hypertens 2014;4:97–104.10.1016/j.preghy.2014.02.001Search in Google Scholar
8. Hadlock FP, Harrist RB, Martinez-Poyer J. In utero analysis of fetal growth: a sonographic weight standard. Radiology 1991;181:129–33.10.1148/radiology.181.1.1887021Search in Google Scholar
9. Gordijn SJ, Beune IM, Thilaganathan B, Papageorghiou A, Baschat AA, Baker PN, et al. Consensus definition of fetal growth restriction: a Delphi procedure. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2016;48:333–9.10.1002/uog.15884Search in Google Scholar
10. Roberts CL, Lancaster PA. Australian national birthweight percentiles by gestational age. Med J Aust 1999;170:114–8.10.5694/j.1326-5377.1999.tb127678.xSearch in Google Scholar
11. Pranke P, Failace RR, Allebrandt WF, Steibel G, Schmidt F, Nardi NB. Hematologic and immunophenotypic characterization of human umbilical cord blood. [Erratum appears in Acta Haematol 2001;105(4):251]. Acta Haematol 2001;105:71–6.10.1159/000046537Search in Google Scholar
12. Selkov SA, Selutin AV, Pavlova OM, Khromov-Borisov NN, Pavlov OV. Comparative phenotypic characterization of human cord blood monocytes and placental macrophages at term. Placenta 2013;34:836–9.10.1016/j.placenta.2013.05.007Search in Google Scholar
13. Fingerle G, Pforte A, Passlick B, Blumenstein M, Strobel M, Ziegler-Heitbrock HW. The novel subset of CD14+/CD16+ blood monocytes is expanded in sepsis patients. Blood 1993;82:3170–6.10.1182/blood.V82.10.3170.3170Search in Google Scholar
Supplementary Material
The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2018-0286).
©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston