Chapter 7 - Stress-induced immune deviations and reproductive failure

Abstract

The peaceful coexistence of the mother and the semiallogenic fetus is a unique situation, which results from the balanced and fine-tuned adaptation of the maternal endocrine and immune system. This adaptation includes the rise of different hormones such as progesterone and cortisol. These endocrine alterations are linked to distinct changes in immune cell phenotype and function, subsequently creating a tolerogenic niche, which ensures fetal growth and development. However, these immune modifications are vulnerable to disruption by a variety of challenges the mother is facing during pregnancy, for example, medication, infection, nutrition, and prenatal stress. The latter can range from daily hassles to severe life events such as disease or death of a close relative, whereby the individual perception of such challenges is a critical parameter of how such challenges result in pathologies. Such pathologies can include the emergence of pregnancy complications caused by a stress-induced disruption of maternal immune and endocrine adaptation to pregnancy.