Jerusalem, August 3, 2006 – Upending conventional wisdom, which views the immune system’s primary function as destruction of foreign invaders, a team of Hadassah researchers has discovered that the immune system can also build.. This previously unknown function plays a major role in fetal development and pregnancy, with important implications for conditions that cause pre-eclampsia and miscarriages. Their breakthrough findings were published this week in Nature Medicene, the prestigious scientific journal.
“Our research revealed that Natural Killer (NK) cells of the immune system are positive regulators of human cells, in addition to their well-known killing activity that eliminates infected cells, tumor cells and foreign bodies,” said Prof. Simcha Yagel, a senior physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hadassah University Hospital-Mt. Scopus. “This positive regulation stimulates the immune system to secrete special growth factors and triggers the tremendous uterine blood vessel widening necessary for the growth and development of the placenta. We know now that without this positive regulation, the placenta does not develop properly".
“It’s as if we opened a door we never knew existed and entered a completely new world of exciting possibilities.”
Professor Ofer Mandelboim and Dr Jacob Hanna, of the Lautenberg Center for General and Tumor Immunology in the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine, with Professor.Yagel and Dr. Debra Goldman-Wohl of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hadassah University Medical center and colleagues discovered this significant – and previously unknown – feature, using both cellular and molecular biology to advance their understanding of the maternal-fetal interaction and the role of the immune system.
“What we have learned about the immune system will have significant impact on many aspects of problematic pregnancies as well as the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process. In the future our research may help us remedy or prevent these conditions,” Prof. Yagel says.
“The placenta is the connection between the mother and the fetus. If the placenta does not develop properly, it impedes implantation of the fetal cells", he explained. "Shallow fetal cell implantation is a hallmark of pre-eclampsia, a condition that develops in late pregnancy caused by vascular problems of the placenta. Our discovery could potentially lead to treatment that reduces the incidence of pre-eclampsia, a condition that affects seven percent of all pregnant women and may have therapeutic implications on recurrent miscarriage,” he says.
“In the next stage of our research, we will continue to explore the precise immune receptors for a better understanding of how they function, and ultimately, how they can help ensure healthy babies.”
For further information:
Prof. Simcha Yagel – Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hadassah University Hospital-Mt. Scopus 02-5844301
Yael Bossem-Levy – Spokesperson 02-6776220