Pregnancy: Tolerance and Suppression of Immune Responses

Abstract

Presence of foreign tissue in a host's body would immediately lead to a strong immune response directed to destroy the alloantigens present in fetus and placenta. However, during pregnancy, the semiallogeneic fetus is allowed to grow within the maternal uterus due to multiple mechanisms of immune tolerance, which are discussed in this chapter.

THE ROLE OF THE DIFFERENT SUBPOPULATIONS OF CD4⁺Т LYMPHOCYTES DURING PREGNANCY

“…Hemoxygenase-1 also shows antiapoptotic action on decidua and placenta cells, it is required for maintenance of trophoblast stem cell vitality and their differentiation. HO-1 stimulation results in the increase of the Treg pool in the decidua and placenta, and Tregs, in turn, stimulate HO-1 expression by trophoblast cells [53].…”

Role of PD1/PDL1 pathway, and TH17 and treg cells in maternal tolerance to the fetus

“…[4,[8][9][10][11][12] In this section, we will briefly highlight the mechanisms involving the immune cells, both at the site and in the periphery, that contribute to the maintenance of tolerance at the FMI.…”

Listeriosis during Pregnancy: A Public Health Concern

“…During pregnancy, cellular immunity is minimal due to the increased progesterone [58, 59], making pregnant women particularly susceptible to intracellular microorganisms like L. monocytogenes [51, 60]. The vertical cell-to-cell transmission is frequent since L. monocytogenes shows uterus and placenta tropism [48, 51].…”