Cell host & microbe
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Cell host & microbe · Jul 2011
Foxp3(+) regulatory T cell expansion required for sustaining pregnancy compromises host defense against prenatal bacterial pathogens.
Although pregnancy confers unique susceptibility to infection, the pregnancy-associated immune defects that erode host defense remain largely undefined. Herein, we demonstrate that expansion of immune-suppressive Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) which occurs physiologically during pregnancy or when experimentally induced in transgenic mice caused enhanced susceptibility to prenatal pathogens including Listeria and Salmonella species. ⋯ Interestingly, Foxp3 cell-intrinsic defects in the immune-suppressive cytokine IL-10 alone were sufficient to override Treg-mediated infection susceptibility, while IL-10 was nonessential for sustaining pregnancy. Thus, maternal Treg expansion required for sustaining pregnancy creates naturally occurring holes in host defense that confer prenatal infection susceptibility.