These data indicate that 1) early increases of suppressor T cells and NK+3 cells during pregnancy may be related to the mechanism to accept or reject the fetus in early pregnancy, respectively; 2) late decreases of helper T cells and NK+3 cells may be related to the maintenance of pregnancy: 3) postpartum increases of helper T cells, cytotoxic T cells, TCR alpha beta-negative T cells (T gamma delta cells), and CD5+ B cells may be related to the postpartum aggravation of autoimmune diseases; and 4) the immunological effects of pregnancy remains until about 1 year after delivery.

Coix seeds, a Chinese medicine have been used in Japan and reported to be effective in patients with verruca vulgaris and verrucae planae juveniles. We investigated the in vivo effects on lymphocyte subsets in seven healthy volunteers who took six tablets of Coix seeds three times a day (a typical dose) for four weeks. Leukocyte counts and the percentage of total lymphocytes did not change but the percentages of CD3+CD56+ cells and CD16+CD57- cells increased significantly. These results indicate that Coix seeds increase peripheral cytotoxic lymphocytes and may be effective to viral infection through the enhancement of cytotoxic activity.

Changes in the activity and number of natural killer (NK) cells in peripheral blood in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease were examined. NK activity was measured in a 4-hr 51Cr-release assay and the number of NK cells was analyzed with FITC-conjugated monoclonal antibodies by use of an automated flow cytometer. NK activity in patients with untreated Graves' disease (n = 25, 39.7 +/- 13.5%, P less than 0.05) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (n = 18, 41.0 +/- 14.2%, P less than 0.05) was high compared to the activity in non-pregnant controls (n = 61, 32.6 +/- 15.0%). NK activity in patients with postpartum Graves' thyrotoxicosis (n = 11, 48.6 +/- 18.9%) was markedly increased compared to the activity in non-pregnant controls (P less than 0.01) and in postpartum controls (n = 29, 33.8 +/- 15.2%, P less than 0.05), although the mean ages of each group did not differ significantly. Moreover, NK activities in the thyrotoxic state were significantly higher than those in the euthyroid state in the same patients with postpartum Graves' thyrotoxicosis or with postpartum destructive thyrotoxicosis. The number of CD16 positive cells increased in patients with postpartum Graves' thyrotoxicosis. However the number of CD16 and CD57 positive cells were normal in all other groups of patients. These results indicate that an increase of NK activity is associated with exacerbation of autoimmune thyroid disease both in Hashimoto's thyroiditis and in Graves' disease and suggest that NK cells might have an important role for the control of disease activity in autoimmune thyroid disease.

No abstract

Thyrotoxicosis in Graves' disease is often aggravated in early pregnancy and is closely associated with postpartum recurrence of stimulative thyrotoxicosis. To examine whether thyroid-stimulating TSH receptor antibody (TSAb) or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which also has thyroid-stimulating activity (TSA), was responsible for this early aggravation, the respective TSA due to TSAb or hCG was evaluated by a highly sensitive cAMP accumulation assay using FRTL-5 cells. TSA was detectable in all of 11 women in normal early pregnancy, correlated positively with serum hCG concentration, and was abolished completely by the pretreatment of serum sample with the solid-phase hCG antibody coupled with Sepharose 4B. The model serum samples of Graves' disease with pregnancy were made by the mixture of normal pregnant and Graves' sera, and their TSA were reduced by the pretreatment with the solid-phase hCG antibody, just corresponding with the reduction in hCG-induced TSA. TSA of early pregnant sera in 20 patients with Graves' disease decreased significantly but were still positive even after the pretreatment with the hCG antibody. Serial changes in TSAb and hCG-induced TSA were measured in 5 of these 20 pregnant patients. hCG-induced TSA increased associated with the increase in free thyroxine, while TSAb did not show striking change in early pregnancy. These data indicate that (1) respective TSA due to TSAb or hCG can be measured distinctively by using the solid-phase hCG antibody and (2) hCG plays a crucial role in the aggravation of Graves' thyrotoxicosis in early pregnancy.