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Maternal and fetal T cells in term pregnancy and preterm labor

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 17, pages 693–704 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Pregnancy is a state of immunological balance during which the mother and the developing fetus must tolerate each other while maintaining sufficient immunocompetence to ward off potential threats. The site of closest contact between the mother and fetus is the decidua, which represents the maternal–fetal interface. Many of the immune cell subsets present at the maternal–fetal interface have been well described; however, the importance of the maternal T cells in this compartment during late gestation and its complications, such as preterm labor and birth, has only recently been established. Moreover, pioneer and recent studies have indicated that fetal T cells are activated in different subsets of preterm labor and may elicit distinct inflammatory responses in the amniotic cavity, leading to preterm birth. In this review, we describe the established and proposed roles for maternal T cells at the maternal–fetal interface in normal term parturition, as well as the demonstrated contributions of such cells to the pathological process of preterm labor and birth. We also summarize the current knowledge of and proposed roles for fetal T cells in the pathophysiology of the preterm labor syndrome. It is our hope that this review provides a solid conceptual framework highlighting the importance of maternal and fetal T cells in late gestation and catalyzes new research questions that can further scientific understanding of these cells and their role in preterm labor and birth, the leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Valeria Garcia-Flores, PhD, Yi Xu, PhD, and Marcia Arenas-Hernandez, PhD, for their participation in critical discussions. This research was supported by the Wayne State University Perinatal Initiative in Maternal, Perinatal and Child Health and the Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal–Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS); and, in part, with federal funds from NICHD/NIH/DHHS under Contract no. HHSN275201300006C. Dr. Romero has contributed to this work as part of his official duties as an employee of the United States Federal Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal–Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Detroit, MI, USA

    Derek Miller, Meyer Gershater, Rebecca Slutsky, Roberto Romero & Nardhy Gomez-Lopez

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA

    Derek Miller, Meyer Gershater & Nardhy Gomez-Lopez

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Roberto Romero

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Roberto Romero

  5. Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    Roberto Romero

  6. Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA

    Roberto Romero

  7. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Roberto Romero

  8. Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA

    Nardhy Gomez-Lopez

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  1. Derek Miller
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Correspondence to Nardhy Gomez-Lopez.

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Miller, D., Gershater, M., Slutsky, R. et al. Maternal and fetal T cells in term pregnancy and preterm labor. Cell Mol Immunol 17, 693–704 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-020-0471-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-020-0471-2

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