Antibodies in Parous Women Detected by Antibody Dependent Cell Mediated Cytotoxicity

Feto-maternal symbiosis during pregnancy induces the production of antibodies against fetal alloantigens. In this study, the presence of antibodies in the sera from parous women was checked by Complement dependent Lysis (CdL) at 20°C and at 15°C, and by Lymphocyte Antibody Lytic Interaction (LALI). The percentage of positive sera in CdL at 20°C is 15.3%, at 15°C 25.8% and in LALI 41.0%. This difference is due to the higher sensitivity of the LALI technique in detecting antibodies directed against histocompatibility antigens expressed on target cell surface. The high percentage of positive sera found suggests that alloimmunization during pregnancy is a generalized and physiological phenomenon and that this fact should be taken into account in the investigation of the feto-maternal relationship.