Fetal intervention increases maternal T cell awareness of the foreign conceptus and can lead to immune-mediated fetal demise.

ABSTRACT: Fetal interventions to diagnose and treat congenital anomalies are growing in popularity but often lead to preterm labor. The possible contribution of the maternal adaptive immune system to postsurgical pregnancy complications has not been explored. We recently showed that fetal intervention in mice increases maternal T cell trafficking into the fetus and hypothesized that this process also may lead to increased maternal T cell recognition of the foreign conceptus and subsequent breakdown in maternal-fetal tolerance. In this study, we show that fetal intervention in mice results in accumulation of maternal T cells in the uterus and that these activated cells can produce effector cytokines. In adoptive transfer experiments, maternal T cells specific for a fetal alloantigen proliferate after

SUBMITTER: Wegorzewska M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4268439 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature