Maternal-fetal conflict averted by progesterone- induced FOXP3+ regulatory T cells

• Published in: iScience Vol. 25; no. 6; p. 104400
• Main Authors: Severance, Ashley L., Kinder, Jeremy M., Xin, Lijun, Burg, Ashley R., Shao, Tzu-Yu, Pham, Giang, Tilburgs, Tamara, Goodman, Wendy A., Mesiano, Sam, Way, Sing Sing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 17.06.2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Endocrinology; Female reproductive endocrinology; Immune response; Immunology; Immunology; Immune response; Female reproductive endocrinology; Endocrinology
• ISSN: 2589-0042; 2589-0042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104400

Pregnancy stimulates an intricately coordinated assortment of physiological changes to accommodate growth of the developing fetus, while simultaneously averting rejection of genetically foreign fetal cells and tissues. Despite increasing evidence that expansion of immune-suppressive maternal regulatory T cells enforces fetal tolerance and protects against pregnancy complications, the pregnancy-associated signals driving this essential adaptation remain poorly understood. Here we show that the female reproductive hormone, progesterone, coordinates immune tolerance by stimulating expansion of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells. Conditional loss of the canonical nuclear progesterone receptor in maternal FOXP3+ regulatory T cells blunts their proliferation and accumulation, which is associated with fetal wastage and decidual infiltration of activated CD8+ T cells. Reciprocally, the synthetic progestin 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC) administered to pregnant mice reinforces fetal tolerance and protects against fetal wastage. These immune modulatory effects of progesterone that promote fetal tolerance establish a molecular link between immunological and other physiological adaptions during pregnancy. [Display omitted] •Progesterone receptor in maternal FOXP3+ Tregs protects against fetal wastage•Progesterone receptor stimulation drives maternal Treg proliferation and accumulation•Loss of progesterone receptor unleashes decidual CD8+ T cell infiltration•Exogenous 17-OHPC progesterone reinforces fetal tolerance Immunology; Immune response; Endocrinology; Female reproductive endocrinology