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Embryonic Stem Cell Immunobiology pp 1–16Cite as

Immune Privilege of Stem Cells

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1029))

Abstract

Immune privilege provides protection to vital tissues or cells of the body when foreign antigens are introduced into these sites. The modern concept of relative immune privilege applies to a variety of tissues and anatomical structures, including the hair follicles and mucosal surfaces. Even sites of chronic inflammation and developing tumors may acquire immune privilege by recruiting immunoregulatory effector cells. Adult stem cells are no exception. For their importance and vitality, many adult stem cell populations are believed to be immune privileged. A preimplantation-stage embryo that derives from a totipotent stem cell (i.e., a fertilized oocyte) must be protected from maternal allo-rejection for successful implantation and development to occur. Embryonic stem cells, laboratory-derived cell lines of preimplantation blastocyst-origin, may, therefore, retain some of the immunological properties of the developing embryo. However, embryonic stem cells and their differentiated tissue derivatives transplanted into a recipient do not necessarily have an ability to subvert immune responses to the extent required to exploit their pluripotency for regenerative medicine. In this review, an extended definition of immune privilege is developed and the capacity of adult and embryonic stem cells to display both relative and acquired immune privilege is discussed. Furthermore, we explore how these intrinsic properties of stem cells may one day be harnessed for therapeutic gain.

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Abbreviations

APC:

Antigen-presenting cell

CCR4:

CC chemokine receptor 4

DC:

Dendritic cell

ES:

Embryonic stem

HSC:

Hematopoietic stem cell

IDO:

Indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase

IFN:

Interferon

IL-10:

Interleukin-10

IVD:

Intervertebral disk

KIR:

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor

mCRPs:

Membrane complement regulatory proteins

MHC:

Major histocompatibility complex

MICA:

MHC class I chain-related gene A

MIF:

Migration inhibitory factor

MSC:

Mesenchymal stem cell

NK:

Natural killer cell

NSC:

Neural stem cell

TGF-β:

Transforming growth factor β

Treg:

Regulatory T cell

uNK:

Uterine natural killer cell

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr Stephen Cobbold for helpful discussions. Work on immune privilege in the authors’ laboratory is supported by seed funding from the Oxford Stem Cell Institute and by grant G0802538 from the Medical Research Council (UK).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Naoki Ichiryu & Paul J. Fairchild

Authors
  1. Naoki Ichiryu
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  2. Paul J. Fairchild
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Internal Medicine, Div. Allergy & Immunology, University of Iowa, Hawkins Drive 200, Iowa City, 52242, Iowa, USA

    Nicholas Zavazava

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Ichiryu, N., Fairchild, P.J. (2013). Immune Privilege of Stem Cells. In: Zavazava, N. (eds) Embryonic Stem Cell Immunobiology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1029. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-478-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-478-4_1

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-477-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-478-4

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