TITLE:
T Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Normal Pregnancies and Those Complicated by Eclampsia in Kaduna State, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
J. M. Banda, B. O. P. Musa, G. C. Onyemelukwe, S. O. Shittu, A. A. Babadoko, A. G. Bakari, A. I. Mamman, A. Sarkin-Pawa, Surajudeen A. Junaid
KEYWORDS:
Eclampsia, Preeclampsia, Pregnancy, T Cell Subpopulations
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Immunology,
Vol.6 No.3,
August
17,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: Eclampsia, the occurrence of generalized convulsion(s) in association with signs of
preeclampsia [PE] (hypertension and proteinuria) in pregnancy has remained a significant public
threat in Nigeria, contributing to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. This study
was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted in some selected hospitals in Kaduna State,
between April 2014 and November 2015. Subjects and Methods: Blood (3 mls) was collected into
an ethylenediaminetetraaccetic acid (EDTA) vacutainer tube from third trimester women diagnosed
with eclampsia (EC; n = 38) and healthy pregnant controls (PC; n = 38)—age and parity
matched and healthy non-pregnant controls (NPC; n = 38)—age matched. T Cell subpopulations
and Complete Blood Count levels were measured by Sysmex, Auto blood analyzer and flow cytometry
respectively. Participants with smear positive malaria, seropositive for human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV), any other clinical infection or refused consent were excluded from this
study. Data obtained were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Post Hoc test. A
p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. Result: Overall, results showed a depressed
(mean ± Standard deviation (SD): CD3+ T cell (65.6 ± 15.5%; 1225.5 ± 401.5 cell/μL),
CD4+ T cell (36.1 ± 8.7%; 657.1 ± 189.9 cell/μL), and a low CD4/CD8 value in women with EC
(1.4 ± 0.5) and PC (1.5 ± 0.3) compared to NPC (1.9 ± 0.6) control (p