title: Suppressive effect of pregnant serum on murine dendritic cell function.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Tolerance to the semi-allogenic fetal graft by the maternal immune system is a medical enigma. Many aspects of immunoregulation at the feto-maternal interface have been clarified, but systemic effects of pregnancy on the immune system are still elusive. The present study was undertaken to determine whether mid-pregnancy mouse serum has an inhibitory effect on dendritic cells (DC) function.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mid-gestational sera were obtained from allogenic pregnant Balb/c mice (Balb/c × C57BL/6) on days 9-11 of gestation. Splenic DC were purified from Balb/c mice, and treated with mid-pregnancy mouse serum. Antigen pulsed DC were injected into mice palms. After 5 days, draining lymph nodes were removed, cultured in the presence of cognate antigen, and proliferation of responding cells was measured by (3)H-thymidin incorporation. Interleukin (IL)-10 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production by stimulated lymph node antigen-specific cells was also measured in culture supernatants using sandwich ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment of DC with pregnant mouse serum markedly blocked their ability to induce antigen-specific lymphocyte proliferation and IFN-γ and IL-10 production by primed lymph node cells in comparison with non-pregnant serum-treated DC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pregnant mouse serum has an inhibitory effect on DC capacity to induce antigen-specific proliferation and cytokine secretion by lymph node cells. The suppressive effects of pregnant serum on DC could be considered as one of the mechanisms responsible for the systemic immunomodulation observed during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozorgmehr
authors.forename: Amir Hassan
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Zarnani
authors.forename: Shohreh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nikoo
authors.forename: Seyed Mohammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moazzeni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D011247:Pregnancy; D044967:Serum / Q000276:immunology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016753:Interleukin-10; D007371:Interferon-gamma