Santoni Angela, Zingoni Alessandra, Cerboni Cristina, Gismondi Angela
Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
Am J Reprod Immunol. 2007 Sep;58(3):280-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0897.2007.00513.x.
Natural killer (NK) cells are a key component of innate immunity, particularly crucial during the early phase of immune responses against certain viruses, parasites, and microbial pathogens. The role of NK cell during pregnancy has been vividly discussed over the past years and it is now becoming increasingly clear that NK cells control pregnancy maintenance at several levels. In normal pregnancy, it appears that they provide benefit by properly secreting cytokines, chemokines and angiogenic factors rather than functioning as cytotoxic effector cells. However, as they are endowed with all the cytolytic weapons, they promptly become capable of attacking fetal and maternal tissues during infection and inflammation.
自然杀伤(NK)细胞是先天免疫的关键组成部分,在针对某些病毒、寄生虫和微生物病原体的免疫反应早期尤为重要。过去几年中,NK细胞在妊娠期间的作用一直备受热议,现在越来越清楚的是,NK细胞在多个层面上控制着妊娠的维持。在正常妊娠中,它们似乎通过适当分泌细胞因子、趋化因子和血管生成因子而发挥有益作用,而非作为细胞毒性效应细胞发挥功能。然而,由于它们具备所有的细胞溶解武器,在感染和炎症期间,它们会迅速具备攻击胎儿和母体组织的能力。