Problem: Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is defined by at least three consecutive abortions in otherwise healthy couples. Paternal lymphocyte alloimmunization therapy (PLAT) is an effective therapy for RSA in some cases, but there are no predictive markers about the effectiveness of PLAT.
Method of study: Forty-two consecutive cases with primary RSA treated by PLAT and 23 controls were the subjects. Polymorphisms of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-E, HLA-G, HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C and HLA-DRB1 were investigated by sequenced based typing. Promoter polymorphism and a 14 bp ins/del polymorphism in exon 8 were also investigated for HLA-G.
Results: Thirty-eight RSA wives became pregnant within 1 year after PLAT. Among them, 27 obtained babies (succeeded PLAT cases), while 11 again aborted with no detectable chromosomal abnormalities in the aborted fetuses (aborted PLAT cases). The frequencies of HLA-G*010401, A*2402, B*5201, and DRB1*1502 were significantly increased in the aborted cases than those in the succeeded cases or controls. Of note, HLA-G*010401 was found in all aborted cases whereas it was found in 51.9% of succeeded cases (odds ratio = 21.4, P = 0.006, P(c) = 0.03), and the presence of HLA-G*010401 could predict the abortion after PLAT with sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 48.1%, respectively.
Conclusion: Human leukocyte antigen testing may be useful for predicting effectiveness of PLAT in RSA.