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. 1998 Aug 21;281(5380):1191-3.
doi: 10.1126/science.281.5380.1191.

Prevention of allogeneic fetal rejection by tryptophan catabolism

D H Munn  1 , M Zhou, J T Attwood, I Bondarev, S J Conway, B Marshall, C Brown, A L Mellor
Affiliations

Prevention of allogeneic fetal rejection by tryptophan catabolism

D H Munn et al. Science. .

Abstract

In 1953 Medawar pointed out that survival of the genetically disparate (allogeneic) mammalian conceptus contradicts the laws of tissue transplantation. Rapid T cell-induced rejection of all allogeneic concepti occurred when pregnant mice were treated with a pharmacologic inhibitor of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), a tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme expressed by trophoblasts and macrophages. Thus, by catabolizing tryptophan, the mammalian conceptus suppresses T cell activity and defends itself against rejection.

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