Phytohaemagglutinin on maternal and umbilical leukocytes.

Almost all the umbilical lymphocytes showed more extensive blast cell formation than that of their mother’s lymphocytes with PHA. Pathological conditions of mother in pregnancy and labor such as anemia, gestational toxicosis, difficult labor and asphyxia of babies, inhibited the normal response of both maternal and umbilical lymphocytes to PHA. ∗PMID: 4221943 [PubMed indexed for MEDLINE] Copyright c ©OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL Acta Med. Okayama 19, 55 58 (1965) PHYTOHAEMAGGLUTININ ON MATERNAL AND UMBILICAL LEUCOCYTES E. HAMAMOTO, 1. KITAMURA, A. SATO, M. lNABA, and S. HIRAI Department of Pediatrics, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan Received for publication, March 25, 1961 Constituents in phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) that shows a mitogenic activity on human peripheral lymphocytes are protein, and lymphocytes stimulated with PHA produce gamma-globulin in vitro• However, one cannot hastily conclude that this response is a specific immune response• It might be realized that fetal and new-born babies have not been sensitized with beans as a component of their diet except the transplacental sensitization. In this connection, comparative exami~ations on fetal, umbilical and adult leucocytes were carried out about their responsibility to PHA, but these materials had been employed from at-random persons. From immunological point of view SMITH pointed out that fetal and neonatal ones can show a quantitatively identical response to some antigen as in the case of adults. This preliminary report presents the comparison of the blast cell formation between the maternal and her umbilical blood leucocytes after 72 hours' cultivation with PHA. Our special interest in this report is placed on the question whether maternal lymphocytes would be stimulated more significantly than her babie's umbilical lymphocytes and whether there would be any physiolgical conditions which influence the mitotic activity of PHA on leucocytes. METHODS Heparinized maternal blood was drawn at the second stage of the labor, on the other hand, heparinized umbilical blood. was directly from the umbilical vessels immediatly after its cutting. To avoid any non-physiological procedure, both heparinized maternal and umbilical blood was kept at 37°C for 2 hours to allow red cell sedimentaion without addition of any substance. In the latter case a centrifugation was performed as a low sedimentation rate had been noticed. The leucocytes containing plama were separated, counted, followed by addition of PHA, 0 .06 ml per 1 ml of each plasma. Both the experimental leucocytes and the control without PHA, were kept at 37°C for 10 min., then 2 ml of Medium 199 were added to each 1 ml of the plasma, transferred into culture 55 1 Hamamoto et al.: Phytohaemagglutinin on maternal and umbilical leukocytes Produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 1965 56 E. I-tAMAMOTO, 1. KITAMURA, A. SATO, M. INABA, and S. HIRAI bottles (TD-50: Ikemoto Co.) and incubated at 37°C. After 72-hour cultivation, smears of the cell deposit in the cultures were stained with May-Giemsa stain and the proportion of blast-like cells was determined. 80 _ .aternal lwcocyte 70 c=:::J Ullb111cal lwcoc1te