title: Regulation of costimulatory signal in maternal-fetal immune tolerance.
abstract: A pregnancy is associated with modifications in the immune status of the mother, but the mechanisms are not well understood. Several observations have indicated that CD28/CTLA-4 and B7-1/B7-2 are involved in the maternal-fetal immune regulation. This review aims to recapitulate our current knowledge concerning the role of CD28/CTLA-4 and B7-1/B7-2 in maternal-fetal immune regulation. Several studies suggest that up-regulation of B7-2 and/or CD28 and/or down-regulation of CTLA-4 are correlated with the occurrence of pregnancy loss. Therefore, an accurate expression of costimulatory molecules at the maternal-fetal interface may ensure that the decidual cells do not elicit a 'danger' signal to the maternal immune system, perhaps instead contributing to the establishment of immune tolerance in vivo. It is showed that costimulation blockade with anti-B7 mAbs results in altered allogeneic T-cell response and overcomes increased maternal rejection to the fetus, which improves fetus growth in the abortion-prone system. These findings suggest that the anti-B7-treated T cells not only function as potent suppresser cells but also exert immunoregulatory effect on the maternal T cells. This procedure might be potentially useful to immunotherapy for human recurrent spontaneous abortion.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Reproductive Immunology, Hospital and Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fudan University Shanghai Medical College, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Deng-Xuan
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Da-Jin
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D018122:B7-1 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D051940:B7-2 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D018106:CD28 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000276:immunology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018122:B7-1 Antigen; D051940:B7-2 Antigen; D018106:CD28 Antigens; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen