Amino et al. postulated a postpartum autoimmune thyroid syndrome and Sugiura et al. established an assay for detecting antibodies to anterior pituitary cell surface membrane (PCSA) by immunofluorescent methods. Using this technique, we attempted to determine the prevalence of PCSA before and after delivery. Studies were conducted with 16 pregnant women without any apparent diseases. Serial measurements of PCSA from the sera of each woman before and after delivery were performed by immunofluorescent methods using AtT-20 cells (mouse ACTH secreting cells) and GH3 cells (rat prolactin and GH secreting cells). Antibodies to AtT-20 cells were detected in 5 of 16 pregnant women at 36 weeks (31.3%), while those to GH3 cells were detected in 3 cases (18.8%). Following delivery, positive antibodies were observed in 12 women (75.0%) at 1 month, 15(93.7%) at 3 months and 13 (81.3%) at 6 months. A similar result also was obtained with GH3 cells. It is possible that some of the patients with positive antibodies have functional abnormalities of the anterior pituitary. The results obtained suggest the presence of postpartum autoimmune endocrine syndrome at the anterior pituitary level.
Animals Autoantibodies