title: Regulatory T cells protect from autoimmune arthritis during pregnancy.
abstract: Pregnancy frequently has a beneficial effect on the autoimmune disease Rheumatoid Arthritis, ranging from improvement in clinical symptoms to complete remission. Despite decades of study, a mechanistic explanation remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that an analogous pregnancy-induced remission can be observed in a mouse model of arthritis. We demonstrate that during pregnancy mice are protected from collagen-induced arthritis, but are still capable of launching normal immune responses to influenza infections. We examine the role of regulatory T (T(R)) cells in this beneficial effect. T(R) cells are essential for many aspects of immune tolerance, including the suppression of autoimmune responses. Remarkably, transfer of regulatory T cells from pregnant 'protected' mice was sufficient to confer protection to non-pregnant mice. These results suggest that regulatory T cells are responsible for the pregnancy-induced amelioration of arthritis.
authors: Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors: Alba
authors: A
authors: Munoz-Suano
authors: Marinos
authors: M
authors: Kallikourdis
authors: Milka
authors: M
authors: Sarris
authors: Alexander G
authors: AG
authors: Betz
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*