Decidual stromal cell-derived IL-33 contributes to Th2 bias and inhibits decidual NK cell cytotoxicity through NF-κB signaling in human early pregnancy

The survival of the allogeneic conceptus has long been an immunological paradox. Under normal healthy pregnancy, effective immunity must be maintained so as to protect the mother from harmful pathogens (Dudley, 1997). Yet within the decidual environment, recognition of the fetus drives local tolerance contemporaneous with the pregnancy, which suggests that the mother is immunologically inert to her fetus (Saito et al., 2007). Therefore, there must be a complex balance between active immunity and tolerance at the fetal–maternal interface, whereby mother and embryo achieve a symbiotic state.
Source: Journal of Reproductive Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Source Type: research