Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 356, Issue 9245, 2 December 2000, Pages 1900-1902
The Lancet

Research Letters
Detection of house-dust-mite allergen in amniotic fluid and umbilical-cord blood

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(00)03265-7Get rights and content

Summary

Mononuclear cells in umbilical-cord blood display allergen-specific reactivity, but how allergen exposure occurs in utero is unknown. We investigated the presence of a common inhalant allergen (Der p 1), to which mothers are exposed throughout pregnancy, by ELISA in matched maternal blood and amniotic fluid samples at 16–17 weeks of gestation, and in matched maternal and umbilical-cord blood at term (≥37 weeks of gestation). Der p 1 was detectable in 24 of 43 amniotic fluid samples where it was also present in maternal blood, and in 15 of 24 cord-plasma samples at significantly higher concentrations than in the maternal plasma (p=0·022). The detection of Der p 1 in the amniotic fluid and the fetal circulation provides direct evidence of transamniotic and transplacental allergen exposure.

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