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Standardization of flow cytometric crossmatch (FCXM) for investigation of unexplained habitual abortion

University of British Columbia

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), defined as two or more pregnancy losses at any gestational age, affects many couples who are trying to establish a family. Research in the broad field of reproduction has focussed classically upon infertility, that is, the inability to conceive. The inability to maintain pregnancies, that is, recurrent pregnancy loss, remains an enigma, both on a pathophysiological and psychological level. Consequently, many couples who suffer from repeated pregnancy wastage are left without answers, without appropriate therapy and, consequently, often without a family. This Master's thesis will provide an overview of the current knowledge about recurrent pregnancy loss. In particular, the immunological aspects of recurrent pregnancy loss will be discussed. Flow cytometry, as an investigative tool in reproductive immunology, will be described and clinically evaluated as a technique to detect maternal allosensitization to paternal mononuclear cells following immunization. There are many intriguing questions to be answered in regard to the normal and abnormal immune response to pregnancy. With the thorough evaluation of the flow cytometric crossmatch methodology as a clinical tool to assess maternal allosensitization, as described in this Master's thesis, it is hoped that a collaborative approach will be undertaken to answer some of the fundamental questions about the maternal immune response to the fetal allograft. Hopefully this flow cytometric crossmatch methodology will eventually serve a small role in the answering of Sir Peter Medewar's thought-provoking question of 1953, which was, "why does the fetus not habitually provoke an immunological reaction from its mother".

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-02-17

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4704

Experimental Medicine

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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