"Invariant NKT Cell Activation Induces Late Preterm Birth That Is Atten" by Derek St Louis, Roberto Romero et al.
 

Invariant NKT Cell Activation Induces Late Preterm Birth That Is Attenuated by Rosiglitazone

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2016

Publication Title

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)

Abstract

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although intra-amniotic infection is a recognized cause of spontaneous preterm labor, the noninfection-related etiologies are poorly understood. In this article, we demonstrated that the expansion of activated CD1d-restricted invariant NKT (iNKT) cells in the third trimester by administration of α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) induced late PTB and neonatal mortality. In vivo imaging revealed that fetuses from mice that underwent α-GalCer-induced late PTB had bradycardia and died shortly after delivery. Yet, administration of α-GalCer in the second trimester did not cause pregnancy loss. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ activation, through rosiglitazone treatment, reduced the rate of α-GalCer-induced late PTB and improved neonatal survival. Administration of α-GalCer in the third trimester suppressed PPARγ activation, as shown by the downregulation of Fabp4 and Fatp4 in myometrial and decidual tissues, respectively; this suppression was rescued by rosiglitazone treatment. Administration of α-GalCer in the third trimester induced an increase in the activation of conventional CD4(+) T cells in myometrial tissues and the infiltration of activated macrophages, neutrophils, and mature dendritic cells to myometrial and/or decidual tissues. All of these effects were blunted after rosiglitazone treatment. Administration of α-GalCer also upregulated the expression of inflammatory genes at the maternal-fetal interface and systemically, and rosiglitazone treatment partially attenuated these responses. Finally, an increased infiltration of activated iNKT-like cells in human decidual tissues is associated with noninfection-related preterm labor/birth. Collectively, these results demonstrate that iNKT cell activation in vivo leads to late PTB by initiating innate and adaptive immune responses and suggest that the PPARγ pathway has potential as a target for prevention of this syndrome.

Medical Subject Headings

Animals; Cytokines; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Galactosylceramides; Humans; Hypoglycemic Agents; Immunophenotyping; Lymphocyte Activation; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Natural Killer T-Cells; PPAR gamma; Pregnancy; Premature Birth; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rosiglitazone; Thiazolidinediones

PubMed ID

26740111

Volume

196

Issue

3

First Page

1044

Last Page

1059

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