Annette I Niestroy wrote:
>> What is (are) the principle antihgen(s) that mediate maternal tolerance
> of an embryo. Recent studies implicate HLA-G. How is implantation
> permited if the zygote contains seemingly foreign (paternal) material?
Does look remarkably like a test question, doesn't it?
I believe there was an article on tolerance in pregnancy in Immunology
Today in 1995 or 1996- (should not take too long to look up)- proposing
that pregnancy caused a downregulation of cell-mediated immune
responses. There is also an article by N.C. Smith in Parasitology Today
(1996) on the interaction of malaria and pregnancy.
As to asking for answers on the internet: science is not a matter of
received truths. There are some things that nearly everybody agrees on,
true; but the nature of science is of continual questioning and testing
of hypotheses. It follows that if you ask two or three scientists the
same question, you will probably get more than two or three answers, and
more likely some extra questions. The only way to approach these
questions is to read widely- do medline searches, look up references,
and read reviews and think critically about what you read.
That is probably what your instructor wants you to do.
Andrew Fell
"Its good to keep an open mind- but not so open that your brains fall
out".
