FEATURES OF TIM-3, CD9, CD49a MOLECULE EXPRESSIONS BY PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES DURING PHYSIOLOGICAL PREGNANCY

Abstract

Physiological pregnancy is characterized by significant changes in the phenotype and functions of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Thus, the number of lymphocytes migrating from peripheral blood in the uterus and expressing Tim-3, CD49a, CD9 molecules which limit their cytotoxicity and participate in their migration, is significantly increased in the first half of pregnancy. However, the expression of these molecules on peripheral blood lymphocytes during physiological pregnancy has not been studied. The aim of the work was to study the expression of Tim-3, CD49a, CD9 molecules in the total pool of lymphocytes and on CD3⁺T-lymphocytes of peripheral blood of women in the I and III trimesters of physiological pregnancy. The object of the study was the peripheral blood of healthy women with physiological pregnancy in the I and III trimesters. The comparison group is healthy non-pregnant women in the first phase of the menstrual cycle. The expression of Tim3, CD49a, and CD9 molecules was analyzed in a pool of lymphocytes and on CD3⁺T-lymphocytes of peripheral blood by flow cytometry. It was found that in the first trimester, the expression of Tim-3 and CD49a in the total pool of lymphocytes was higher, and CD9 did not change compared to non-pregnant women. In the third trimester, the expression of Tim-3 and CD49a in the total pool of lymphocytes did not change, and CD9 was lower than in non-pregnant women. The expression of Tim-3 did not change on CD3⁺-T lymphocytes in both I and III trimesters, and CD49a and CD9 were lower compared to non-pregnant women. Thus, the expression of Tim-3, CD49a, and CD9 molecules varied during the trimesters of pregnancy both in the total pool of lymphocytes and CD3⁺-T lymphocytes of peripheral blood, which is significant for the regulation of their cytotoxic function and migration activity.