Regulation of postimplantation mouse embryonic growth by maternal vasoactive intestinal peptide

Dendritic Cells and the Establishment of Fetomaternal Tolerance for Successful Human Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a remarkable event where the semi-allogeneic fetus develops in the mother's uterus, despite genetic and immunological differences. The antigen handling and processing at the maternal-fetal interface during pregnancy appear to be crucial for the adaptation of the maternal immune system and for tolerance to the developing fetus and placenta. Maternal antigen-presenting cells (APCs), such as macrophages (Mφs) and dendritic cells (DCs), are present at the maternal-fetal interface throughout pregnancy and are believed to play a crucial role in this process. Despite numerous studies focusing on the significance of Mφs, there is limited knowledge regarding the contribution of DCs in fetomaternal tolerance during pregnancy, making it a relatively new and growing field of research. This review focuses on how the behavior of DCs at the maternal-fetal interface adapts to pregnancy's unique demands. Moreover, it discusses how DCs interact with other cells in the decidual leukocyte network to regulate uterine and placental homeostasis and the local maternal immune responses to the fetus. The review particularly examines the different cell lineages of DCs with specific surface markers, which have not been critically reviewed in previous publications. Additionally, it emphasizes the impact that even minor disruptions in DC functions can have on pregnancy-related complications and proposes further research into the potential therapeutic benefits of targeting DCs to manage these complications.

Tolerance induction at the early maternal-placental interface through selective cell recruitment and targeting by immune polypeptides

Pregnancy challenges immune cells and immunomodulatory circuits of the mother and the developing fetus to dynamically adapt to each other in an homeostatic and tolerant environment for fetal growth. This entails the coordination of multiple cellular processes all devoted to accommodate and nourish the fetus while protecting the mother from endogenous and exogenous threatens. From the earliest stages of pregnancy, several strategies to efficiently communicate immune and trophoblast cells within the interface or at a distance were identified and chemokines might act at on different targets through direct or indirect mechanisms. Here, we briefly review some mechanisms of T regulatory cell recruitment to the early maternal-placental interfaces to accomplish immunotolerance and homeostatic control and we discuss evidence on two locally released polypeptides, RANTES (regulated on activation, normal, T-cell expressed, and secreted) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), as novel contributors to the multiplicity of immune tolerant responses and uterine quiescence requirements.

Learning enhancement with neuropeptides

OBJECTIVE

Previous work has demonstrated that two synthetic peptides can prevent prenatal alcohol-induced damage as assessed by prevention of learning abnormalities in adult offspring as well as improve outcome from traumatic brain damage. The current studies were undertaken to evaluate whether these peptides could enhance performance in a learning and memory paradigm when administered either prenatally or to aged mice.

STUDY DESIGN

For prenatal treatment, C57Bl6/J mice were treated on gestational day 8 with 1 oral administration of D-NAP or D-SAL alone or D-NAP+D-SAL or a double dose of D-SAL. Control groups were same-regimen treated with vehicle alone. Learning was assessed in adult male offspring (35-50 days) by using the Morris water maze. To evaluate aged animals, 12-month-old mice were treated with D-NAP and D-SAL or vehicle alone daily and tested on the Morris water maze.

RESULTS

Offspring exposed prenatally to D-NAP+D-SAL learned significantly faster than controls, with an earlier onset of learning and an overall decreased latency to find the hidden platform (P < .05). Animals exposed prenatally to either D-NAP or D-SAL alone learned similar to control, with a trend toward faster latencies. Aged animals who received D-NAP+D-SAL learned significantly faster than age-matched controls, with an earlier onset of learning (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

Combined D-NAP+D-SAL enhanced learning in healthy young mice and aged mice. These findings suggest potential therapeutic interventions not only during a critical developmental period, but also in aged animals.