Extinguishing maternal immune responses during pregnancy: implications for immunosuppression

Abstract

Mammals owe their existence to immunosuppressive processes that prevent fetal rejection in utero. Blocking tryptophan catabolism during murine pregnancy allows maternal T cells to provoke fetal allograft rejection. Cells expressing indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), which catabolizes tryptophan, prevent T cell cycle progression and enhance activation induced T cell death. Here, we discuss the role of cells expressing IDO in regulating maternal T cell immunity during pregnancy and consider whether this mechanism might contribute to immunological discrimination by promoting T cell tolerance in other circumstances.