title: Selective downregulation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase alpha in leukocytes during pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  During pregnancy, it is crucially important that the mother's immune system tolerates the developing embryo. Although a number of mechanisms of immunological tolerance have been described, little is known about intracellular signaling events, causing a decrease in the mother's leukocyte activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the expression and activity of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) in maternal blood cells of healthy volunteers by Reverse Transcription PCR and Western blotting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our data reveal a selective downregulation of the p110alpha catalytic isoform. This correlated with a slight decrease in PI3K activity as judged by the levels of phosphorylated Akt. CONCLUSION As PI3K are involved in signal transduction of various leukocyte receptors, this downregulation may comprise a means of holding immune functions at bay.
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Molecular Cell Biology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rohrbach
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: Mehtab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bulgay-Moerschel
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.forename: Tobias G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Poehlmann
authors.forename: Udo R
authors.initials: UR
authors.lastname: Markert
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gruen
mesh_terms: D019870:1-Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019870:1-Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt