English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Estradiol (E2) plays a crucial and intricate role during pregnancy to mediate several aspects of the pregnancy process. A perplexing phenomenon in congenital toxoplasmosis is that the severity of  Toxoplasma gondii  ( T. gondii )-mediated adverse pregnancy outcome is closely related with time of primary maternal infection during pregnancy. In this study, the results showed that  T. gondii  infection in early pregnancy was more likely to induce miscarriage in mice than in late pregnancy, which may be related to inflammation of the maternal–fetal interface. Meanwhile, the  T. gondii  infection-induced-apoptotic rate of Tregs was higher and the expression of programmed death-1 (PD-1) on Tregs was lower in early pregnancy than in late pregnancy. As the level of E2 in mouse serum gradually increased with the development of pregnancy, we proposed that E2 may contribute to the discrepancy of Tregs at different stages of pregnancy. Thus, we investigated  in vitro  and  in vivo  effects of E2 in regulating Tregs. We found that E2  in vitro  could protect Tregs against apoptosis and upregulate the expression of PD-1 on Tregs in a dose-dependent manner through ERα. Likewise, the simulated mid-pregnancy level of E2 in nonpregnant mice also alleviated the  T. gondii  infection-induced apoptosis of Tregs and potentiated the PD-1 expression on Tregs. Therefore, in the pathogenesis of  T. gondii -induced abnormal pregnancy, E2 helped maintain the immune balance and improve the pregnancy outcome through regulating Tregs. This finding illustrates the intricate working of hormone–immune system interaction in infection-induced abnormal pregnancy.

frontiers in immunology

Estradiol Attenuates the Severity of Primary Toxoplasma gondii Infection-Induced Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Through the Regulation of Tregs in a Dose-Dependent Manner