Department of Immunology, Taishan Medical University, Taian 271016, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China.
J Reprod Immunol. 2011 Sep;91(1-2):17-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jri.2011.06.101.
Progesterone has been demonstrated to be involved in maintaining pregnancy by regulating immunocytes. Dendritic cells (DCs), the most potent triggers of the adaptive immune response, express receptors for steroid hormones and are regarded as one of the primary targets of progesterone. However, the functional modification of DCs by progesterone remains poorly understood. Here, we report that progesterone does not affect the morphology or apoptosis of murine bone marrow-derived DCs. Progesterone-treated DCs were characterized by decreased expression of Ia (MHC class II), CD80 and CD86, increased production of IL-10, and decreased secretion of IL-12. Compared with mature DCs (mDCs), activated progesterone-treated DCs had a reduced capacity to stimulate CD4(+) T cell proliferation. The observation that progesterone-treated DCs could attenuate delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses in vivo suggests that progesterone mediates suppressive DC activity. However, transfer of progesterone-treated DCs into the peritoneal cavity of mice did not elevate the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells in the spleen. Overall, our study helps to increase understanding of the role of DCs exposed to progesterone in the maintenance of pregnancy.
孕激素通过调节免疫细胞来维持妊娠。树突状细胞（DCs）是适应性免疫反应的最有效触发因素，表达甾体激素受体，被认为是孕激素的主要靶细胞之一。然而，孕激素对 DCs 的功能修饰仍知之甚少。本研究报道孕激素并不影响鼠骨髓来源的 DCs 的形态或凋亡。孕激素处理的 DCs 表现为 Ia（MHC Ⅱ类）、CD80 和 CD86 的表达降低，IL-10 产生增加，IL-12 分泌减少。与成熟 DCs（mDCs）相比，激活的孕激素处理的 DCs 刺激 CD4+T 细胞增殖的能力降低。孕激素处理的 DCs 可减弱体内迟发型超敏反应（DTH）反应的观察结果表明，孕激素介导抑制性 DC 活性。然而，将孕激素处理的 DCs 转移到小鼠的腹腔中并不会增加脾脏中 CD4+CD25+Foxp3+调节性 T 细胞的百分比。总的来说，本研究有助于增加对孕激素作用下的 DC 在妊娠维持中的作用的理解。
