Immunomodulation induced by intrauterine transfusions.

Intrauterine transfusion (IUT) therapy offers a unique model to study the immunological consequences of fetal exposure to donor alloantigens. IUT can result in immediate and short effects. Directly after IUT a relative leukocytosis was observed, which was evenly distributed among the different leukocyte subsets. After the course of IUT treatment a memory response against donor antigens was generated. This was also reflected by an increase in CD3/CD45RO+ T-cells and modulation of T cell receptor Vbeta (TCRBV) repertoire. However, a long term clinical follow-up study on IUT patients who received this treatment in the 1960's revealed no evidence of serious side effects. Furthermore, persistence of donor leukocytes and in vitro immunomodulation could not be observed.