Prostaglandins in semen compromise the immune response against sexually transmitted pathogens.
Seminal plasma is not just a spermatozoa carrier. It induces the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and a massive infiltration of neutrophils, monocytes and dendritic cells in the female genital mucosa after coitus, enabling the innate immune system to fight against sexually transmitted pathogens. However, exposure to seminal plasma not only turns on an inflammatory response but also induces regulatory mechanisms that allow the fetus (a semiallograft) to grow and develop in the uterus. In mouse models it has been shown that seminal plasma induces the expansion of regulatory T cells specific to seminal Ags in the receptive partner, thus promoting tolerance to paternal alloantigens and avoiding allogeneic fetal rejection. These mechanisms appear to be mainly induced by prostaglandins of the E series (PGE) and TGF-β, which are present at huge concentrations in the seminal plasma. Moreover, we have recently shown that exposure to seminal plasma induces the differentiation of dendritic cells into a tolerogenic profile through a mechanism dependent on the activation of the prostanoid receptors EP2 and EP4 by seminal PGE. Our hypothesis proposes that this tolerogenic response induced by seminal PGE, while promoting fertility by inducing tolerance toward paternal alloantigens, might also compromise the development of the adaptive immune response against sexually transmitted pathogens in the receptive partner.
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
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Remes Lenicov
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
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Varese
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
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Merlotti
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina.
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Geffner
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina. Electronic address: aceballo@fmed.uba.ar.
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Ceballos
D000818:Animals; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D011458:Prostaglandins E / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
D011458:Prostaglandins E