A review of the different hypothetical factors leading to materno-foetal tolerance during normal human pregnancy.
The immune situation of a women during pregnancy which permits the non-rejection of the foetal allograft can be compared to the pathological state of patients bearing malignant tumours. A good understanding of the former, therefore, could provide a better approach to the treatment of the latter. Four different kinds of hypothesis have been proposed for explaining this materno-foetal tolerance and each is briefly reviewed and criticised. Particular attention is drawn to the nature of the circulating factors which have been detected in the sera of pregnant women and which have been shown to have an in vitro immunosuppressive effect.
D000918:Antibody Specificity; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D010920:Placenta / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy; D014599:Uterus / Q000276:immunology