Fetal-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T cell responses develop during normal human pregnancy and exhibit broad functional capacity.
J Immunol
; 189(2): 1072-80, 2012 Jul 15.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22685312
ABSTRACT
Tolerance of the semiallogeneic fetus presents a significant challenge to the maternal immune system during human pregnancy. T cells with specificity for fetal epitopes have been detected in women with a history of previous pregnancy, but it has been thought that such fetal-specific cells were generally deleted during pregnancy as a mechanism to maintain maternal tolerance of the fetus. We used MHC-peptide dextramer multimers containing an immunodominant peptide derived from HY to identify fetal-specific T cells in women who were pregnant with a male fetus. Fetal-specific CD8(+) T lymphocytes were observed in half of all pregnancies and often became detectable from the first trimester. The fetal-specific immune response increased during pregnancy and persisted in the postnatal period. Fetal-specific cells demonstrated an effector memory phenotype and were broadly functional. They retained their ability to proliferate, secrete IFN-γ, and lyse target cells following recognition of naturally processed peptide on male cells. These data show that the development of a fetal-specific adaptive cellular immune response is a normal consequence of human pregnancy and that unlike reports from some murine models, fetal-specific T cells are not deleted during human pregnancy. This has broad implications for study of the natural physiology of pregnancy and for the understanding of pregnancy-related complications.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Linfocitos T Citotóxicos
/
Epítopos de Linfocito T
/
Células Madre Embrionarias
/
Feto
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
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Male
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Pregnancy
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Immunol
Año:
2012
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido