In mammals, immune protection of the fetus must be carried out without harming the mother harboring the fetus. Protection of the developing fetus is critical for the success of a species. The immune system evolved to protect the host against invading pathogens. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preterm birth, the leading causes of perinatal mortality, are found in nearly 10% of pregnancies, each ( Nardozza et al., 2017 Purisch and Gyamfi-Bannerman, 2017). About half of early pregnancy loss is due to abnormal chromosome numbers caused by meiotic failure, but many have no clear explanations ( Moore et al., 2017b). The early stages of pregnancy have the high rate of failure of approximately 30% ( Wilcox et al., 1988). The rate of failed pregnancies and pregnancies with complications is also remarkably high. However, the majority of birth defects (approximately 50–60%) have no known genetic or environmental causes ( Moore et al., 2017b). Genetic abnormalities and environmental exposures such as smoking, alcohol, medications, and infections in utero are important causes of birth defects. Understanding the contributions of the immune system in pregnancy and fetal development provides important insights into the pathogenesis underlying maternal and fetal diseases and sheds insights on possible targets for therapy.īy the age of 5, approximately 8% of children are diagnosed with some form of birth defects ( Moore et al., 2017b). We discuss immune responses that are necessary to promote healthy pregnancy and those that lead to congenital disorders and pregnancy complications, with a particular emphasis on the role of interferons and cytokines. In this review, we examine evidence for the role of maternal and fetal immune responses affecting pregnancy and fetal development, both under homeostasis and following infection. At the same time, certain infections or inflammatory conditions in pregnant mothers cause severe disease and have detrimental impacts on the developing fetus. Immune cells and cytokine signaling pathways participate as mediators of these communications to promote healthy pregnancy. Successful pregnancy requires carefully-coordinated communications between the mother and fetus.
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