The immunology of successful pregnancy

Abstract

Immune responses play an important role in various reproductive processes, including ovulation, menstruation and parturition. Clearly, during pregnancy, when the mother must accept a semi-allogeneic fetus, immune responses also play a very important role. This was first recognized by Medawar in 1953, when the concept of the fetal allograft was presented in order to explain the immunological relationship between mother and fetus. Since then, the immunology of pregnancy has been the leading subject within reproductive immunology research. Yet, the question of why the semi-allogeneic fetus is not rejected by the mother remains unresolved. The present review provides an update of current knowledge on the subject of the so-called 'immunological paradox of pregnancy'.

Mechanisms of Maternal Immune Tolerance During Pregnancy

“…Within this population there are two main subsets which are defined as helper T lymphocytes and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Helper T lymphocytes are particularly important in the context of pregnancy as they affect the function of other immune cells by producing cytokines (Veenstra van Nieuwenhoven et al, 2003). Helper T lymphocytes can be further separated into Th1 and Th2 based on their profile of cytokine production.…”

“…Helper T lymphocytes can be further separated into Th1 and Th2 based on their profile of cytokine production. Th1 produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, IFN-and interleukin (IL)-2 which promote cellular immune responses while Th2 produce IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, IL-10 and IL-13 which promote humoral responses (Mosmann et al, 1986;Veenstra van Nieuwenhoven et al, 2003).…”

Mechanism of Autoimmunity in Pregnancy - The Good and the Bad

“…It has also been proved that Treg are key determinants in murine pregnancy (Zenclussen et al, 2005) with possibly the mediation of interleukin 10 (Taylor et al, 2006& Akdis et al, 2001. The relative proportion of immune cells found in the deciduas are as follows, 70% of natural killers (Moffet et al, 2004), 20% of macrophages (Lessin et al, 1988), around 2% of T lymphocytes (Lessin et al, 1988), 1% of dendritic cells (Gardner et al, 2003) and very minute B cell lymphocytes (Veenstra Van Nieuwenhoven et al, 2003). In addition, regulatory proteins decreasing complement action are found in the decidua basalis more precisely on the syncyciotrophoblast T-cells along with cellular membranar Fas ligands and MHC molecules.…”

Micronutrients Supplementation during Preconception Period Improves Fetal Survival and Cord Blood Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1

“…Clin. Nutr., 7 (2): 33-44, 2015 delivery and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) appeared as a result of the unsuccessful fetal-maternal communication in early pregnancy, particularly during implantation period (Van Nieuwenhoven et al, 2003;Imakawa et al, 2004).…”