Pregnancy Immunogenetics and Genomics: Implications for Pregnancy-Related Complications and Autoimmune Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hing-Yuen Yeung ◽  
Calliope A. Dendrou
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
System Function ◽  
Uterine Tissue ◽  
Successful Pregnancy ◽  
Immune Systems ◽  
Immune System Function ◽  
Maternal Immune System ◽  
The Impact

Pregnancy presents a singular physiological scenario during which the maternal immune system must accommodate the semiallogeneic fetus. Fluctuations between pro- and anti-inflammatory states are required throughout gestation to facilitate uterine tissue remodeling, fetal growth and development, and finally birth. Tolerance for the fetus must be established and maintained without fundamentally compromising the maternal immune system function, so that both the mother and fetus are protected from foreign insults. Here, we review our current understanding of how genetic variation at both maternal and fetal loci affects implantation and placenta formation, thereby determining the likelihood of a successful pregnancy outcome or the development of pregnancy-related complications. We also consider the impact of pregnancy on both the maternal and fetal systemic immune systems and the related implications for modulating ongoing autoimmune diseases and triggering their development.

scholarly journals The impact of Ramadan fasting on immune system function during COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Halgord Ali M. Farag ◽  
Hardi Rafat Baqi ◽  
Kawa Khwarahm Hamafarj ◽  
Abdel Hamid El Bilbeisi ◽  
Syamand Ahmed Qadir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
System Function ◽  
Ramadan Fasting ◽  
Immune System Function ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Effects of Long-Term Supplementation of Bovine Colostrum on the Immune System in Young Female Basketball Players. Randomized Trial

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Anna Skarpańska-Stejnborn ◽  
Mirosława Cieślicka ◽  
Hanna Dziewiecka ◽  
Sławomir Kujawski ◽  
Anita Marcinkiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Bovine Colostrum ◽  
Control Group ◽  
System Function ◽  
Basketball Players ◽  
Immune System Function ◽  
Experimental Group

An intensive physical exercise program could lead to a decrease in immune system function. Effects of long-term supplementation of bovine colostrum on the response of immune function on physical exercise test in athletes were examined. Twenty-seven elite female basketball players (age 16–19) were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. Eventually, n = 11 athletes completed intervention in the experimental group (3.2 g bovine colostrum orally twice a day for 24 weeks), while n = 9 athletes in the control group were given a placebo. Before the supplementation, after 3 and 6 months, subjects performed the physical exercise stress test. Before, just after, and 3 h after physical exercise testing, blood was drawn and immune system indicators were examined. Plasma interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-2, IL-10, IL-13, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, creatine kinase (CK MM), immunoglobulin G (IgG), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), and WBC, lymphocyte (LYM), monocyte (MON), and granulocyte (GRA) were measured. A statistically significant change in IL-10 in response to the exercise program during the supplementation period in both groups was observed (p = 0.01). However, the results of the rest of the comparisons were statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). Contrary to our initial hypothesis, there were no significant effects of bovine supplementation on the dynamics of immune system function indicators.

Physical exercise and immune system function in cancer survivors

Cancer ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian S. Fairey ◽  
Kerry S. Courneya ◽  
Catherine J. Field ◽  
John R. Mackey
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
System Function ◽  
Immune System Function

scholarly journals In utero cell transfer between porcine littermates

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea McConico ◽  
Kim Butters ◽  
Karen Lien ◽  
Bruce Knudsen ◽  
Xiaosheng Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Cord Blood ◽  
Normal Pregnancy ◽  
Human Cells ◽  
Cell Transfer ◽  
System Function ◽  
Human Cord Blood ◽  
Immune System Function ◽  
Vascular Connections

Trafficking of cells between mother and fetus during the course of normal pregnancy is well documented. Similarly, cells are known to travel between twins that share either a placenta (i.e. monozygotic) or associated chorion (i.e. monochorionic). Transferred cells are thought to be channelled via the vessels of the placenta or vascular connections established via the chorion and the long-term presence of these cells (i.e. microchimerism) can have important consequences for immune system function and reparative capacity of the host. Whether cells can be transferred between twins with separate placentas and separate chorions (i.e. no vascular connections between placentas) has not been investigated nor have the biological consequences of such a transfer. In the present study, we tested the possibility of this type of cell transfer by injecting human cord blood-derived cells into a portion of the littermates of swine and probing for human cells in the blood and tissues of unmanipulated littermates. Human cells were detected in the blood of 78% of unmanipulated littermates. Human cells were also detected in various tissues of the unmanipulated littermates, including kidney (56%), spleen (33%), thymus (11%) and heart (22%). Human cells were maintained in the blood until the piglets were sacrificed (8 months after birth), suggesting the establishment of long-term microchimerism. Our findings show that the transfer of cells between fetuses with separate placentas and separate chorions is significant and thus such twins may be subject to the same consequences of microchimerism as monozygotic or monochorionic counterparts.

scholarly journals T-bet-Deficient NOD Mice Are Protected from Diabetes Due to Defects in Both T Cell and Innate Immune System Function

2009 ◽  
Vol 183 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Esensten ◽  
Michael R. Lee ◽  
Laurie H. Glimcher ◽  
Jeffrey A. Bluestone
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Innate Immune System ◽  
Nod Mice ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
System Function ◽  
Immune System Function

scholarly journals Immunotoxicity of Xenobiotics in Fish: A Role for the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR)?

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9460
Author(s):  
Helmut Segner ◽  
Christyn Bailey ◽  
Carolina Tafalla ◽  
Jun Bo
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor ◽  
Disease Susceptibility ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Immune Gene ◽  
Immune Systems ◽  
Aryl Hydrocarbon ◽  
The Impact

The impact of anthropogenic contaminants on the immune system of fishes is an issue of growing concern. An important xenobiotic receptor that mediates effects of chemicals, such as halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Fish toxicological research has focused on the role of this receptor in xenobiotic biotransformation as well as in causing developmental, cardiac, and reproductive toxicity. However, biomedical research has unraveled an important physiological role of the AhR in the immune system, what suggests that this receptor could be involved in immunotoxic effects of environmental contaminants. The aims of the present review are to critically discuss the available knowledge on (i) the expression and possible function of the AhR in the immune systems of teleost fishes; and (ii) the impact of AhR-activating xenobiotics on the immune systems of fish at the levels of immune gene expression, immune cell proliferation and immune cell function, immune pathology, and resistance to infectious disease. The existing information indicates that the AhR is expressed in the fish immune system, but currently, we have little understanding of its physiological role. Exposure to AhR-activating contaminants results in the modulation of numerous immune structural and functional parameters of fish. Despite the diversity of fish species studied and the experimental conditions investigated, the published findings rather uniformly point to immunosuppressive actions of xenobiotic AhR ligands in fish. These effects are often associated with increased disease susceptibility. The fact that fish populations from HAH- and PAH-contaminated environments suffer immune disturbances and elevated disease susceptibility highlights that the immunotoxic effects of AhR-activating xenobiotics bear environmental relevance.

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