Influence of the embryo on the distribution of maternal immunoglobulins in the mouse uterus.

The effect of the embryo on the distribution of IgA, IgG and IgM was studied by an immunoperoxidase technique on mouse uterine sections, (1) during the first part of pregnancy and pseudopregnancy, and (2) in delayed implantation combined with different progesterone-oestradiol treatments designed to extend the delay or induce implantation, and in nonpregnant ovariectomized mice similarly treated. The number of glandular lumina containing IgA increased particularly from the implantation period, but in pseudopregnancy this number decreased from the morning of Day 4, and afterwards continued to decline. In delayed implantation, the number of glandular lumina containing IgA also rose considerably when implantation was induced by oestradiol, whereas under the same progesterone-oestradiol treatment, nonpregnant ovariectomized animals displayed no such increase. Significant staining for IgG in the stroma was observed on Day 4 of pregnancy and pseudopregnancy but prolonged staining for IgG was observed only during pregnancy. In addition, significant numbers of IgA-plasma cells in the stroma were observed mostly in uteri containing embryos. These results indicate that embryos might affect the process by which ovarian hormones regulate IgA and IgG distribution.