T cells may suppress maternal immune response to fetus

摘要

Although previous research has implicated regulatory T cells (Tregs) as a mechanism likely responsible for preventing a mother's immune system from attacking her fetal cells during pregnancy, whether Tregs protect fetal cells remains unknown. Daniel Kahn and David Baltimore (pp. 9299-9304) investigated the immune response of first-time pregnant mice to gestating offspring by testing the mothers' immune reactions to male fetal antigens.