Analysis of differentiation mechanisms from human corpus luteum of menstrual cycle to corpus luteum of pregnancy - new differention mechanism through immune system -

当胚胎着床建立在子宫内时，月经周期的黄体转化为妊娠黄体，继续产生丰富的孕酮，进而刺激子宫内膜的功能，维持胚胎着床。胚胎对黄体功能的刺激非常重要，因为它的倾斜会中断妊娠，黄体必须接收到有胚胎存在的信息，这种转移被认为是由发育中的胚胎分泌的hCG激素维持的。换句话说，远隔器官之间的相互作用，即胚胎和母亲之间通过血液循环的串扰，是这些机制的关键。到目前为止，hCG被认为在这种相互作用中发挥了核心作用。然而，有如此多的证据表明hCG以外的机制(S)还没有被阐明。在这个项目中，我们已经证明了外周血中的单个核细胞，即血液中的细胞部分，可以将胚胎存在的信息传递到卵巢。这些单个核细胞也被证实在功能上发生了变化。此外，hCG还能有效地诱导灵长类动物的内分泌和免疫反应。胚胎可能通过高度糖基化的hCG激素将自身存在的信息传递给母体免疫系统，这种激素模仿了对细菌感染的一些反应，表明通过hCG和外周血液免疫细胞的免疫内分泌网络存在，并在早期妊娠中发挥重要作用。

When embryo implantation is established in the uterus, corpus luteum of menstrual cycle is transformed into corpus luteum of pregnancy to continue to produce abundant progesterone, which in turn stimulates the function of endometrium to maintain embryo implantation. The stimulation of corpus luteum function by embryo is very important because its reclining will interrupt pregnancy.The corpus luteum must receive the information of the presence of embryo and this transfer is considered to be madiated by hCG hormone, which is secreted from developing embryo. In other words, the interaction between distant organs, that is crosstalk between embryo and mother via blood circulation, is essential for these mechanisms. So far, hCG is proposed to play a central role in this interaction. However, there are so many evidence suggesting mechanism(s) other than hCG, which have not been yet clarified.In this project, we have demonstated that peripheral blood mononuclear cells, cell fraction in the blood, can transmit the information of the presence of embryo to the ovary. These mononuclear cells were also demonstrated to be functionally changed by the conceptus. In addition, hCG was demonstrated to effectively elicit both endocrine and immune reactions in primates. The embryo may transmit the information about its own presence to maternal immune systems using highly glycosylated hCG hormone, which mimics some reaction against bacterial infection, suggesting that the immune-endocrine network via hCG and peripheral blood immune cells exist and play an important role in the early pregnancy.