Changes in the Blood Serum Levels of the Costimulatory Soluble B7-H4 Molecule in Pregnant Women During the Peripartal Phase

Problem: B7-H4, a transmembrane protein that negatively regulates T lymphocytes, seems to play a role in the suppression of the im\mune response at the maternal-fetal interface. The aim of this study was to compare the blood serum concentration levels of soluble B7-H4 (sB7-H4) prepartal and postpartal in both women who experienced spontaneous onset of labor and those who underwent elective cesarian section.

Method of study: Blood was obtained from 30 prepartal and postpartal women who delivered at the University Hospital of Essen between 2011 and 2012. These patients were further divided into two subgroups depending on the advancement of labor. The sB7-H4 blood serum concentration levels of the women in the groups were then determined by ELISA (BIOZOL, Eching, Germany).

Results: In women who underwent elective cesarian section, a significant increase in sB7-H4 blood serum concentration levels occurred postpartal, while in women who experienced spontaneous onset of labor, no differences between prepartal and postpartal concentration levels were observed. The sB7-H4 blood serum concentration levels on the day after delivery in the women who experienced spontaneous labor and those who underwent elective cesarian section were comparable; however, higher blood serum concentration levels of sB7-H4 were observed prepartal in women with spontaneous onset of labor compared to those found in the women about to undergo elective cesarian section.

Conclusion: These changes in sB7-H4 blood serum concentration levels suggest that this protein is involved in immunological changes associated with the spontaneous onset of labor and post-delivery homeostasis.