title: Influence of atopic dermatitis on reproduction and uterine natural killer cells.
abstract: The causal relationship between severe allergic conditions and successful pregnancy remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate reproductive performance in an experimental mouse model of atopic disease (AD), and the appearance of uterine natural killer (uNK) cells that have crucial roles in placental formation was examined. In the NC/Nga pregnant mice with moderate skin allergic lesions and an 8.6-fold elevation of plasma IgE, significant differences were not detected in the reproductive indices of the number of normal fetuses, abortion rate and placental size. There were few uNK cells in the placenta of AD mice, and they showed a significant decrease regarding the immature subtype as compared with controls. These findings revealed that AD disturbs uNK cell differentiation and provides disadvantageous effects on placental formation, although it does not arrest the pregnancy process. It may be possible that specific immunological conditions behind AD operate favorably to recover the reproductive performance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Basic Veterinary Science, the United Graduate School of Veterinary Science, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Ken Takeshi
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Kusakabe
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Shoichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wakitani
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugi
authors.forename: Nobue
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kuniyoshi
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hiyama
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takeshita
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kano
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiso
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006652:Histological Techniques; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D010920:Placenta / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D010929:Placentation; D011247:Pregnancy; D012098:Reproduction / Q000276:immunology*; D014599:Uterus / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E