Abstract
It has been proposed that PGE 2 is an important immunosuppressant acting at the fetal-maternal interface during pregnancy. We have previously shown that horse conceptus-conditioned medium suppresses lymphocyte proliferation. This experiment was designed to determine if horse conceptus-derived immunosuppressive activity could be attributed to PGE 2 production by the trophoblast tissue. Trophoblast tissue from 21-day-old conceptuses was cut into equal sections and cultured in the presence or absence of the prostaglandin inhibitor, indomethacin. Following culture, immunosuppressive activity and the concentration of PGE 2 were determined for each sample of both horse-trophoblast conditioned medium (HTCM) and indomethacin-treated HTCM (I-HTCM). Suppressive activity was identified in lymphocyte proliferation assays via reduced [ 3H]thymidine uptake by pokeweed mitogen stimulated horse lymphocytes. A radioimmunoassay was used to quantify PGE 2. While PGE 2 production was greatly reduced in cultures containing indomethacin, trophoblast-derived immunosuppressive activity was not affected. These data indicate that PGE 2 is not the primary immunosuppressant produced by horse trophoblast tissue.
Published Version
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