[Immune regulation of ovarian function]

Although it is well established that the pituitary gonadotropins and prolactin are the primary regulators of ovarian function, steroidal and nonsteroidal molecules produced locally in the ovary have been implicated in the modulation of gonadotropin action as autocrine or paracrine regulators. Recent studies suggest that the cells of the immune system play important roles in regulating ovarian function, and the immune regulation of ovarian function has become one of the topics in the field of ovarian physiology. Since it has become clear that the immune factors, cytokines, show a wide range of biological functions, not only on immune cells but also on nonimmune cells, the physiological significance of the resident immune cells, the widespread distribution of which in mammalian ovaries has been known for a long time, has reattracted attention as a third kind of regulator of ovarian function. In this article, current knowledge of the regulatory roles of immune cells as well as the cytokines in ovarian physiology is reviewed.