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Sex Hormones and Immunity to Infection pp 205–226Cite as

Progesterone, Pregnancy, and Innate Immunity

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Abstract

Progesterone plays an important role in the feto-maternal immunological relationship. The products of the progesterone-regulated genes Gal-1 and Hox-A10 affect dendritic cell (DC) function and differentiation of decidual NK cells, respectively. Progesterone favors the induction of immature DCs with a tolerogenic phenotype and inhibits the activity of mature DCs. Deficiency interferes with NK cell differentiation, while NK cell migration to the endometrium is supported by progesterone-induced specific endometrial production of chemokines. Progesterone upregulates HLA-G gene expression, which serves as a ligand for NK inhibitory and activating receptors. Many of the immunological effects of progesterone are mediated by a progesterone-induced protein called progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF). Progesterone and PIBF act on T cell differentiation to induce a Th2 dominance during pregnancy. Progesterone also promotes the development of LIF- as well as M-CSF-producing T cells. PIBF blocks upregulation of perforin expression in decidual lymphocytes cultured with decidual adherent cells and inhibits NK cell cytotoxicity by blocking granule exocytosis.

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  1. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School, Pecs University, H-7643, Pecs, Hungary

    Julia Szekeres-Bartho & Beata Polgar

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  1. Julia Szekeres-Bartho
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  2. Beata Polgar
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  1. School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg, N. Wolfe Street 615, Baltimore, 21205, U.S.A.

    Sabra L. Klein

  2. Institute for Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Taylor Street 27, Glasgow, G4 0NR, United Kingdom

    Craig Roberts

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Szekeres-Bartho, J., Polgar, B. (2010). Progesterone, Pregnancy, and Innate Immunity. In: Klein, S., Roberts, C. (eds) Sex Hormones and Immunity to Infection. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02155-8_8

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