Abstract :
[en] An intact maternal immune system is not essential for successful reproduction but there is good evidence indicating that it plays an important role during pregnancy. The most prominent candidates for maternal immune recognition are the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) antigens. We have investigated the role of embryo-recipient MHC-compatibility in vivo by studying pregnancies after transfer of embryos into 100% compatible or 100% incompatible heifers. Our results showed that MHC antigens are selectively recognized by the immune system of the recipient and suggest that they can influence the outcome of pregnancy. If these results can be confirmed in larger scale studies, new strategies to improve ET pregnancy rates could be applied.
Funding text :
Acknowledgments: The work of B. Aguilar was supported by a fellowship of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (FP93-17155554) and by Holland Genetics (Arnhem, The Netherlands). aReprint requests: S.J. Dieleman. Dept of Herd Health and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yalelaan 7, 3584 CL Utrecht (The Netherlands). E-mail: dieleman@bdv.dgk.ruu.nl.
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