Affiliations: Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK | Klinik für Geburtshilfe und Pränatalmedizin, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Note: [] Correspondence to: Professor Alison J. Douglas, CIP, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK. Tel.: 44 131 650 3274; Fax: 44 131 650 2872; E-mail: Alison.j.douglas@ed.ac.uk
Abstract: Establishment of pregnancy relies not only on peripheral adaptations of the immune system to provide a suitable environment whereby the growing embryo escapes rejection, but also on adaptations of the neuroendocrine system that optimally prepares maternal tissues to effectively support embryo development. This review gives an outline of the reciprocal and necessary interactions between the two systems that underpins pregnancy establishment. Both immune balance and neuroendocrine secretion are readily altered by varying internal and/or external environmental conditions. Therefore, we also give an overview of the impact of stress exposure on each system and on their delicate reciprocal control in early pregnancy, linking to potential mechanisms of stress-induced neuro-endocrine-immune-mediated pregnancy failure.
