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Maternal Interface (maternal + interface)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Review: Relaxin Expressed at the Feto,Maternal Interface

REPRODUCTION IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS, Issue 3-4 2000
T Klonisch
Contents The placental expression of relaxin, a member of the insulin-like family, has been studied in the placenta in various species with different histological types of materno-fetal interdigitation and trophoblast invasiveness. Placental relaxin expression in these species showed some common features. Relaxin was present in placental areas of intense feto-maternal nutrition- and gas-exchange and high growth potential, implicating relaxin to be involved in placental metabolism and placental growth. Differentiation of trophoblast cells along various lineage pathways affected relaxin gene activity and an inverse expression pattern of relaxin and MHC class I molecules was observed in equine pseudostratified trophoblast cells. A fall in peripheral plasma concentrations of relaxin prior to abortion appears to indicate impaired materno-fetal interdigitation which results in insufficient placentation. [source]

Tryptophan catabolites regulate mucosal sensitization to ovalbumin in respiratory airways

ALLERGY, Issue 3 2009
S. O. Odemuyiwa
Background:, Indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO), the rate-limiting enzyme in tryptophan catabolism, is important in generating tolerance at the foetal,maternal interface. Studies using 1-methyl-tryptophan (1-MT), the specific inhibitor of IDO, showed that this enzyme is important in interferon-gamma (IFN-,)-dependent inhibition of allergic inflammation in the respiratory airway during immunotherapy. Aims of study:, We investigated the role of IDO in the development of allergic sensitization, leading to allergic inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR). Methods:, We used a mouse model to generate mucosal tolerance to lipopolysaccharide-free ovalbumin (OVA) following repeated intranasal inoculation of OVA over a 3-day period. We tested the successful induction of tolerance by subsequent intraperitoneal (i.p.) sensitization followed by intranasal challenge with OVA. A slow-release pellet of 1-MT implanted into mice was used to block IDO activity prior to repeated intranasal inoculation of OVA. We measured T-cell proliferation in response to OVA, determined airway inflammation, and measured AHR to intranasal methacholine to investigate the role of IDO in sensitization to OVA. Results:, Repeated intranasal administration of OVA generated tolerance and prevented a subsequent sensitization to OVA via the i.p. route. This response was inhibited in mice receiving a slow-release pellet of 1-MT. However, we successfully reconstituted tolerance in mice receiving 1-MT following intra-peritoneal injection of a mixture of kynurenine and hydroxyanthranilic acid. Conclusion:, Our data suggest that, in addition to their role in IFN-,-mediated inhibition of allergic airway inflammation, products of tryptophan catabolism play an important role in the prevention of sensitization to potential allergens in the respiratory airway. [source]

REVIEW ARTICLE: Regulatory T Cells and Their Role in Pregnancy

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 6 2010
Anne Leber
Citation Leber A, Teles A, Zenclussen AC. Regulatory T cells and their role in pregnancy. Am J Reprod Immunol 2010 Regulatory T cells emerge in the last years as key players in allowing fetal survival within the maternal uterus. They were shown to be a unique subpopulation of T cells expanding during human and murine pregnancy. The importance of Treg for a normal pregnancy situation was proven by studies showing that their absence impairs murine pregnancy while the adoptive transfer of Treg prevents fetal rejection. In humans, pregnancy pathologies are associated with lower Treg frequencies while therapies that improve pregnancy outcome are able to boost their number. Functional studies have shown that Treg can regulate immune cell responses directly at the fetal,maternal interface either by interacting with other cells or by inducing the expression of immune regulatory molecules. This article revises relevant literature on regulatory T cells in human and murine pregnancy. [source]

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Characterization of Cytokine Production by Human Term Placenta Macrophages In Vitro

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 6 2008
Oleg Pavlov
Problem, Macrophages are apparently the only immune cells within placenta villi, yet functions of these cells remain obscure. It has been postulated that placental macrophages accomplish regulatory roles at the fetal,maternal interface by means of wide variety of secreted cytokines. We attempt to analyze the patterns of cytokine production in an isolated population of placental macrophages. Method of study, Macrophages were obtained from term placentas in the absence of spontaneous labor. The basal and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated levels of intracellular cytokines were detected by flow cytometry. The basal cytokine secretion was determined by BDÔCytometry Bead Array (BD Biosciences, San Diego, CA, USA). Results, Intracellular IL-1,, IL-1,, IL-6, and TNF, were detected in 31, 27, 4, and 3% CD68+ cells, respectively. Stimulation with LPS increased the proportions of cytokine-producing CD68+ cells to 48, 50, 28, and 49%, respectively. Under basal conditions, levels of released TNF, and IL-6, respectively, were 20- and 25-fold higher when compared with IL-1, while IL-10 was secreted in small but detectable amounts. When a secretory activity was estimated for cytokine-producing cells, the secretion rate for TNF, and IL-6 overwhelmingly surpassed that for IL-1, (TNF,:IL-6:IL-1, ratio was 192:145:1). Conclusion, These results suggest functional heterogeneity of the placental macrophage population and contribute to the elucidation of regulatory roles of these cells in gestation. [source]

TH1/TH2,3 Imbalance due to Cytokine-Producing NK, ,, T and NK-,, T Cells in Murine Pregnancy Decidua in Success or Failure of Pregnancy

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 5 2001
DAVID A. CLARK
PROBLEM: Recurrent spontaneous abortion in DBA/2-mated CBA/J mice has been attributed to the production of Th1 cytokines (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-, and interferon [IFN]-,) by asialoGM1+ natural killer (NK) cells and V,1.1,6.3+ T cells that infiltrate decidua by day 6.5, during the peri-implantation period. Abortions can be prevented by a second population of V,1.1,6.3 cells, which infiltrate on day 8.5 of gestation, and produce the Th2 cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 and Th3 cytokine transforming growth factor (TGF)-,2. In low abortion rate immunocompetent mice, most of the TGF-,2 is derived from ,, T cells. However, TGF-,2-producing cells are present in the decidua of pregnant severe combined immune deficient (SCID) mice, which lack ,, T cells. METHODS: The cells in day 13.5 decidua of CBA×DBA/2 matings and SCID×SCID matings were identified using flow cytometry and combined surface staining for ,, and/or asialoGM1, and intracellular cytokine staining for TNF-,, IFN-,, and TGF-,2,3. RESULTS: TGF-,2 and TNF-, were found in asialoGM1+ NK cells in SCID mouse decidua. In CBA×DBA/2 mated mice, two major and one minor subsets of cytokine-positive cells were identified: -,,-only T cells, double positive asialoGM1+,,+ (NK-,, T) cells, and a small number of asialoGM1+,,, NK-only cells. The NK-only and NK-,, T subsets showed a greater Th1/Th2,3 pattern of intracellular staining compared with the ,,-only subset. In the CBA×DBA/2 and SCID×SCID systems, Th1/Th2,3 ratios could not predict actual observed abortion rates but did correlate with susceptibility to abortions (if exposed to an additional stimulus such as stress). The known effect of in vivo administration of anti-asialoGM1 antibody on abortion rates within groups of mice exposed to such stresses could also be predicted. CONCLUSION: ,,+ cells in decidua (e.g. V,1+ cells which can recognize trophoblasts) differ based on the presence or absence of the NK marker-asialo-GM1. NK-,, T cells may be quite important in the Th1 response in early pregnancy that predisposes to abortions in CBA×DBA/2 matings, whereas ,, T-only cells appear to be protective. In pregnant SCID mice, the TNF-,+/TGF-,2+ NK population is greatly expanded. An activating stimulus (such as stress or endotoxin) appears to be as important in triggering abortions, as is the Th1/Th2,3 ratio at the feto,maternal interface. [source]