Somerset David A, Zheng Yong, Kilby Mark D, Sansom David M, Drayson Mark T
Department of Fetal Medicine, Division of Reproduction and Child Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham Women's Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Immunology. 2004 May;112(1):38-43. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2004.01869.x.
Summary CD4+ CD25+ T regulatory cells (TReg), suppress antigen-specific immune responses and are important for allograft tolerance. During pregnancy the mother tolerates an allograft expressing paternal antigens (the fetus) requiring substantial changes in immune regulation over a programmed period of time. We analysed whether immune-suppressive TReg cells were altered during pregnancy and therefore might play a part in this tolerant state. The presence of TReg cells was assessed in the blood of 25 non-pregnant, 63 pregnant and seven postnatal healthy women by flow cytometry. We observed an increase in circulating TReg cells during early pregnancy, peaking during the second trimester and then a decline postpartum. Isolated CD25+ CD4+ cells expressed FoxP3 messenger RNA, a marker of TReg cells, and suppressed proliferative responses of autologous CD4+ CD25- T cells to allogeneic dendritic cells. These data support the concept that normal pregnancy is associated with an elevation in the number of TReg cells which may be important in maintaining materno-fetal tolerance.
摘要 CD4+ CD25+ 调节性T细胞（TReg）可抑制抗原特异性免疫反应，对同种异体移植耐受至关重要。在怀孕期间，母亲会耐受表达父系抗原的同种异体移植物（胎儿），这需要在一段特定时间内对免疫调节进行重大改变。我们分析了免疫抑制性TReg细胞在怀孕期间是否发生变化，以及是否可能在这种耐受状态中发挥作用。通过流式细胞术评估了25名未怀孕、63名怀孕和7名产后健康女性血液中TReg细胞的存在情况。我们观察到怀孕早期循环TReg细胞增加，在孕中期达到峰值，然后在产后下降。分离出的CD25+ CD4+ 细胞表达FoxP3信使核糖核酸，这是TReg细胞的一种标志物，并且抑制自体CD4+ CD25- T细胞对同种异体树突状细胞的增殖反应。这些数据支持这样一种观点，即正常妊娠与TReg细胞数量增加有关，这可能对维持母胎耐受很重要。
