Abstract
THE conceptus is not automatically rejected by its mother as an allograft even though it differs genetically and therefore antigenically1–3, perhaps in part because foetal tissues are segregated from immunologically competent maternal cells. For example, the surface of trophoblastic cells is partially covered by highly sulphated acid mucoprotein and the trophoblasts themselves have few if any transplantation antigens3–8. Also, blocking factors may prevent the mother from immunologically damaging her foetus(es). For example, pregnant mice have a serum factor which blocks their lymphocytes from inhibiting the growth of antigenically foreign mouse embryonic cells9; similar results have been observed with human materials10,11. We now report a further possible mechanism by which the newborn actively suppresses mitosis of maternal and other foreign lymphocytes.
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OLDING, L., OLDSTONE, M. Lymphocytes from human newborns abrogate mitosis of their mother's lymphocytes. Nature 249, 161–162 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249161a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/249161a0
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