Clinical significance of determination of changes of serum FE3 and immuno-function parameters levels in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP)

Objective: To study the changes of serum levels of free E3, β-HCG, IgG, IgM, IgA, C3, C4 and peripheral blood CD4+, CD8+ contents in patients with ICP. Methods Serum free E3, β-HCG (with RIA), IgG, IgM, IgA, C3 and C4 (with immuno-turbidity assay) levels and peripheral blood CD4+, CD8+ contents (with flow-cytometry) were determined in 40 patients with ICP and 40 normal pregnant controls. Results Serum free E3 levels in patients with ICP were significantly higher than those in controls (P<0.01) while the β-HCG levels were only insignificantly higher (P>0.05). The serum IgG contents in patients with ICP were significantly lower than those in controls (P<0.01), while the serum IgM, IgA, C3 and C4 contents in patients with ICP were not significantly different from those in controls (P>0.05). CD4+ percentages in the patients were not significantly different from those in controls while the CD8+ percentages were significantly higher (P<0.05), with a significantly lower CD4+/CD8+ ratio. Conclusion Significant changes of contents of serum free E3 and IgG and a lower CD4+/CD8+ ratio were present in patients with ICP, the exact mechanisms were not determined yet. (authors)