Animal Bioscience

Asian Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies (아세아태평양축산학회)
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Function of immune cells and effector molecules of the innate immune system in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in mammals - A review

  • Soohyung Lee (Division of Biological Science and Technology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Inkyu Yoo (Division of Biological Science and Technology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Yugyeong Cheon (Division of Biological Science and Technology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Eunhyeok Choi (Division of Biological Science and Technology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Seonghyun Kim (Division of Biological Science and Technology, Yonsei University) ;
  • Hakhyun Ka (Division of Biological Science and Technology, Yonsei University)
  • Received : 2024.04.20
  • Accepted : 2024.06.20
  • Published : 2024.11.01
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Abstract

In mammalian species, pregnancy is a complex process that involves the maternal recognition of pregnancy, implantation, decidualization, placentation, and parturition. The innate immune system is composed of cellular components, such as natural killer cells, neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages, and effector molecules, such as cytokines, interferons, antimicrobial peptides, and complement components. The innate immune system plays a critical role as the first line of defense against infection or inflammation to maintain homeostasis and activate the adaptive immunity. During pregnancy, innate immune cells and effector molecules act on the regulation of innate immunity for host defense and processes such as embryo development, implantation, and placentation at the maternal-conceptus interface. In this review, we describe the components of the innate immune system and their functions at the maternal-conceptus interface to establish and maintain pregnancy in animal species that form hemochorial- or epitheliochorial-type placentas, including humans, rodents, ruminants, and pigs.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank all the members of the Animal Biotechnology Laboratory, Yonsei University, for their support and assistance throughout this project.

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