[Which immunologic mechanisms facilitate a successful pregnancy].

Three possibilities are discussed for the immunological mechanisms which may be operative in establishing and maintaining a successful grafting of a semiallogenic embryo: (1) The lack of maternal allogenic recognition due to either the absence or a decreased alloantigenicity of paternal alloantigens (HLA). (2) The local suppression of maternal immune reactions against the embryo by hormonally induced decidual suppressor cells and by molecules released from the placenta. (3) The placenta may serve as an immunological barrier filtering potentially cytotoxic cells and molecules out of the maternal circulation before they reach the fetus.