Immune Checkpoint Molecules and Maternal –Fetal Immunity

AbstractPurpose of ReviewBecause the fetus expresses paternally-derived foreign antigens, pregnancy poses unique immune challenges. The maternal immune system must balance protecting the semi-allogeneic fetus from immune rejection with defending the mother and fetus from pathogens. Fetally-derived trophoblast cells of the placenta serve as the immunologic interface with soluble and cellular maternal immune effectors and are thereby essential partners in supporting these tightly regulated interactions. While there are multiple ways that the maternal –fetal immune interface is controlled in a healthy pregnancy, this review highlights several of the immune checkpoint regulators thought to be centrally involved in maternal–fetal immunoregulation.Recent FindingsReproductive immunologists have shown that those fetal trophoblast cells that directly encounter maternal immune cells share many common features with cancer cells, shifting the paradigm of placental immunology away from transplantation biology and toward our extensive understanding of tumorigenesis. Both the post-implantation placenta and the growing neoplasm have many shared goals, including invasion, robust cellular proliferation, angiogenesis, and modulation of host immunity. One way in which both the human placenta and cancer cells protect themselves from immune attack is through the loss of, or neoexpression of, several important cell surface regulators of specific immune interactions known as immune checkpoints. ...
Source: Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports - Category: OBGYN Source Type: research