Immune response to shared placenta/tumor antigens may reduce cancer risk in parous females

Abstract

Pregnancy is a natural phenomenon in which the semi-allogeneic fetus is tolerated by the mother’s immune system. During this event, paternally inherited antigens expressed by placenta can elicit an immune response leading to generation of anti-fetal T cells in mothers. However, the long-term implications of these persistent T cells on the mother’s health have not been studied. Shared placenta/tumor antigens are proteins that are expressed both by placenta and tumors, and are absent or minimally expressed in normal tissues.