EXPRESSION OF CYTOKINES IN PLACENTAS OF MICE UNDERGOING IMMUNOLOGICALLY MEDIATED SPONTANEOUS FETAL RESORPTIONS

It is clear that the immune system and the reproductive system interac t with and influence each other and that the immune system can have po sitive and negative regulatory effects on the outcome of pregnancy. Th e discovery of murine models of immunologically mediated spontaneous f etal resorptions has proved to be very useful for the study of immunol ogical influences on pregnancy. In an attempt to elucidate the mechani sms underlying pregnancy impairment in one such ''natural'' model of p regnancy loss, we compared the expression of the cytokines tumor necro sis factor alpha, interferon tau, and interleukin-2 in placental tissu e from a resorption-prone strain combination with the expression from a normal combination. We found significantly enhanced expression of th ese three cytokines in placentas from the resorption-prone combination using dot-blot hybridization and Northern hybridizations. Since these cytokines are abortifacients in vivo and have detrimental effects on the placenta, and hence on fetal development and survival, our demonst ration of enhanced expression of these deleterious cytokines may give insight into the mechanisms involved in immunologically mediated spont aneous abortions.