TITLE:
Role of natural killer (NK) cells during pregnancy: A review
AUTHORS:
Marcio Nogueira Rodrigues, Phelipe Oliveira Favaron, Jamille Gregório Dombrowski, Rodrigo Medeiros de Souza, Maria Angelica Miglino
KEYWORDS:
Reproduction; Natural Killer; Pregnancy; Imunne System
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.3 No.2,
April
18,
2013
ABSTRACT: The homeostasis is maintained by the immune system which is constituted a network of organs, cells
and molecules that act to combating the assaults affecting the body. The immune
function has been conceptually divided into innate immunity and acquired
immunity. Among the effector cells of innate immunity are the natural killer
cells (NK), they play an important role in the reproductive immunology in the
establishment and maintenance of pregnancy and fetus. The study of the
biological mechanisms involved in the maintenance of pregnancy contributes to
increase knowledge about immune tolerance. The way in which the immune system
is modulated, and the study of the recognition systems maternal innate and
adaptive occurring during pregnancy, allow to understand the survival of the
fetus. The aim of this review was to present the main functions of NK cells and
describe their role in the process of trophoblastic invasion in the
deployment process, in the maternal-fetal interaction and development of the
fetus. The knowledge of the precise role of NK cells is necessary, because
these cells may be responsible for reactions which lead to embryonic and
fetal loss during the organogenesis process.