Role of immune cells in pregnancy.
The human uterus is generally considered to be an immunologically privilege site that isolates the implanted allogeneic embryo from an aggressive maternal immune response. Maternal tolerance of the fetal allograft could be the result of the integration of numerous mechanisms promoted by decidual natural killer (NK) cells, macrophages and T cells. In this review, we outline the possible role of all these immune cells on the maintenance of pregnancy, focusing on the role of the T cells.
Piccinni
Marie-Pierre
MP
Department of Internal Medicine-Immunoallergology Unit, University of Florence, 85 viale Morgagni, 50134 Florence, Italy. mppiccinni@hotmail.com
D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000276:immunology*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology