Progesterone Dampens Immune Responses in In Vitro Activated CD4⁺ T Cells and Affects Genes Associated With Autoimmune Diseases That Improve During Pregnancy.

ABSTRACT: The changes in progesterone (P4) levels during and after pregnancy coincide with the temporary improvement and worsening of several autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Most likely immune-endocrine interactions play a major role in these pregnancy-induced effects. In this study, we used next generation sequencing to investigate the direct effects of P4 on CD4⁺ T cell activation, key event in pregnancy and disease. We report profound dampening effects of P4 on T cell activation, altering the gene and protein expression profile and reversing many of the changes induced during the activation. The transcriptomic changes induced by P4 were significantly enriched for genes associated with diseases known to be modulated during pregnancy such a

SUBMITTER: Hellberg S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8149943 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature