Maternal tolerance to H-Y is independent of IL-10.
It has been suggested that the maternal immune system favors noncytotoxic, "TH-2" immune responses in order to tolerate the developing fetus. In some strains of mice, pregnant females will reject a male skin graft, even as they tolerate their male fetuses. This rejection is based on responsiveness to the male antigen H-Y. In this study we test whether functional maternal tolerance of male fetuses is critically dependent on the TH-2 cytokine Interleukin 10 (IL-10). Normal and IL-10-deficient (10-KO) females were sensitized against H-Y by intraperitoneal injection of male spleen cells before mating with 10-KO males. Litters born to 10-KO females were of comparable size to those born to normal females of the same genetic background. The proportion of males per litter was not adversely affected by IL-10 deficiency. Taken together, our work and others suggest that IL-10 may not be critically important for maternal tolerance of the fetus and extends the evidence against the idea that successful mouse pregnancy depends on TH-2 deviation of the maternal immune system.
Bonney
Elizabeth A
EA
Departments of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. ebonney@uvm.edu
Onyekwuluje
Juanita
J
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000276:immunology; D006182:H-Y Antigen / Q000276:immunology*; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000276:immunology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015996:Survival Rate
D006182:H-Y Antigen; D016753:Interleukin-10