564: Pregnancy primes maternal regulatory T cell response to fetal male antigen

Abstract

The mechanisms that regulate maternal immune response to fetal antigens are unclear. Helper T cells (CD4+) awareness of fetal antigens is not well studied. T regulatory cells are a powerful subset of CD4 helper T cells capable of limiting robust immune responses and are implicated in maternal tolerance of the fetus. We probed maternal immune awareness of fetal antigens using inbred mice whose only antigenic difference is the minor male transplant antigen, H-Y.