Endocrine Abstracts

Successful pregnancy depends on the ability of the maternal immune system to tolerate a genetically incompatible feto-placental unit. One of the important adaptations leading to this immuno-tolerance is the shift, at implantation, of Th 1 dominance to Th 2 dominance. Successful pregnancy is a Th2 dominant immune state, therefore, it is not surprising that women with a Th 1 dominant immune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, thyroiditis or multiple sclerosis improve during pr...

Estetrol (E4) is a natural human steroid, produced exclusively during pregnancy by the fetal liver. Estetrol has been discovered in 1965 by Diczfalusy at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.The role of E4 in embryonic physiology and/or human pregnancy is not known. During human pregnancy E4 is detectable from 9 weeks pregnancy onwards. Estetrol reaches the maternal blood circulation via the placenta. Maternal and fetal E4 concentrations increase expone...

The survival of the semiallogeneic fetus within the mother is thought to be due to mechanisms of immunological tolerance. Regulatory T cells (Treg) are believed to have a crucial role in maintaining pregnancy by creating a transient tolerant microenvironment within the maternal uterus as former studies confirmed. We have evidences that Treg expand in lymph nodes from normal pregnant mice already on day 2 of pregnancy. Abortion-prone mice present diminished numbers of Treg in i...

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