Synchronous expansion of intermediate TCR cells in the liver and uterus during pregnancy

The immunophysiology of pregnancy was investigated in relation to how extra- and intrathymic pathways of T cell differentiation are modulated during pregnancy. Pregnancy was produced in syngeneic and allogeneic combinations in mice. In both cases, a prominent decrease in the number of thymocytes and a mild increase in the number of hepatic mononuclear cells (MNC) were induced during the periparturient period. The most striking change was the increase in the number of intermediate TCR cells with extrathymic T cell properties in the liver. When MNC yielded by the uterus were examined, an expansion of intermediate TCR cells was also observed in this organ during pregnancy. The major populations in the pregnant uterus were NK cells and intermediate TCR cells, the latter of which contained double-negative CD4-8- cells and consisted of both alpha beta and gamma delta T cells. All of these properties coincided with those of extrathymic T cells in the liver. Reflecting extrathymic T cell differentiation, MNC in the liver and pregnant uterus expressed mRNA of RAG-1 and RAG-2. To determine the role of hormonal regulation in this phenomenon, the effects of various pregnancy-associated hormones on thymocytes and hepatic MNC were examined in nonpregnant mice. Of the hormones tested, estrogen was found to induce a response similar to that seen in pregnant mice. These results suggest that a local immune response in the uterus during pregnancy is a phenomenon occurring synchronously with systemic immune systems.