Innate Immune Mechanisms to Protect Against Infection at the Human Decidual-Placental Interface.
During pregnancy, the placenta forms the anatomical barrier between the mother and developing fetus. Infectious agents can potentially breach the placental barrier resulting in pathogenic transmission from mother to fetus. Innate immune responses, orchestrated by maternal and fetal cells at the decidual-placental interface, are the first line of defense to avoid vertical transmission. Here, we outline the anatomy of the human placenta and uterine lining, the decidua, and discuss the potential capacity of pathogen pattern recognition and other host defense strategies present in the innate immune cells at the placental-decidual interface. We consider major congenital infections that access the placenta from hematogenous or decidual route. Finally, we highlight the challenges in studying human placental responses to pathogens and vertical transmission using current experimental models and identify gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed. We further propose novel experimental strategies to address such limitations.
['Hoo|Regina|R|', 'Nakimuli|Annettee|A|', 'Vento-Tormo|Roser|R|']
D000818:Animals D003656:Decidua D004195:Disease Models, Animal D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007113:Immunity, Innate D007239:Infections D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical D010920:Placenta D011247:Pregnancy
innate immunity vertical transmission decidua trophoblast uterine-placental interface