Szekeres-Bartho J
Institute of Microbiology, University Medical School, Pécs, Hungary.
Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz). 1990;38(1-2):125-40.
Among the potentially immunosuppressive substances present in pregnancy serum, progesterone seems to play a major role in reducing in vitro responsiveness of maternal lymphocytes. Although the physiological importance of systemic immunosuppression is not clear, it seems likely that the action of progesterone is not restricted to the fetomaternal interface, where high local concentrations of this hormone are present. Sensitivity of maternal lymphocytes obtained from peripheral blood, to blocking by progesterone is increased. Relatively low concentrations of the hormone, e.g., that present in the serum are sufficient to cause depression of lymphocyte functions. Because of the diverse in vitro effects of this hormone, nearly all stages of the immune response are affected. Suppressor cells appear to play an important role in mediating this effect. Concerning the mode of action of progesterone, recent data suggest a receptor-mediated effect, in which arachidonic acid metabolism is involved. The biological significance of the above mentioned phenomena is not yet established. For elucidating this point, further experimental evidence would be needed for, or against the crucial role of progesterone-mediated immunosuppression in the maintenance of pregnancy. It is going to be difficult to dissect immunologic and other effects of progesterone in vivo, nevertheless, it seems clear that these investigations require in vivo systems. An attractive approach would be isolation and characterization of progesterone binding structures in immunocompetent cells of healthy pregnant women, and raising antibodies, which could discriminate between these binding sites and progesterone receptors of the placenta. The use of these antibodies, or receptor blockers of high specificity might provide a possibility to discriminate between immunological and other biological effects of progesterone in vivo.
在妊娠血清中存在的潜在免疫抑制物质中，孕酮似乎在降低母体淋巴细胞的体外反应性方面起主要作用。尽管全身免疫抑制的生理重要性尚不清楚，但孕酮的作用似乎并不局限于存在高局部浓度该激素的母胎界面。从外周血获得的母体淋巴细胞对孕酮阻断的敏感性增加。相对低浓度的该激素，例如血清中存在的浓度，就足以导致淋巴细胞功能的抑制。由于该激素具有多种体外效应，免疫反应的几乎所有阶段都会受到影响。抑制细胞似乎在介导这种效应中起重要作用。关于孕酮的作用方式，最近的数据表明存在受体介导的效应，其中涉及花生四烯酸代谢。上述现象的生物学意义尚未确定。为了阐明这一点，需要进一步的实验证据来支持或反对孕酮介导的免疫抑制在维持妊娠中的关键作用。在体内区分孕酮的免疫和其他效应将很困难，然而，很明显这些研究需要体内系统。一种有吸引力的方法是分离和表征健康孕妇免疫活性细胞中的孕酮结合结构，并制备能够区分这些结合位点和胎盘孕酮受体的抗体。使用这些抗体或高特异性的受体阻滞剂可能提供一种在体内区分孕酮的免疫和其他生物学效应的可能性。
