Regulatory B Cells: Dark Horse in Pregnancy Immunotherapy?

Ruth Marian Guzman-Genuino; John D Hayball; Kerrilyn R Diener

doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2020.07.008

Regulatory B Cells: Dark Horse in Pregnancy Immunotherapy?

J Mol Biol. 2021 Jan 8;433(1):166596. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2020.07.008. Epub 2020 Jul 19.

Authors

Ruth Marian Guzman-Genuino¹, John D Hayball², Kerrilyn R Diener³

Affiliations

¹ Experimental Therapeutics Laboratory, University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
² Experimental Therapeutics Laboratory, University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Robinson Research Institute and Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
³ Experimental Therapeutics Laboratory, University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Robinson Research Institute and Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Electronic address: kerrilyn.diener@unisa.edu.au.

PMID: 32693108
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2020.07.008

Abstract

There are many unanswered questions surrounding the function of immune cells and how they interact with the reproductive system to support successful pregnancy or contribute to pregnancy pathologies. While the role of immune cells such as uterine natural killer and dendritic cells, and more recently regulatory T cells has been established, the role of another major immune cell population, the B cell, and particularly the regulatory B cells, is relatively poorly understood. This review outlines what is known about B-cell subsets in the context of pregnancy, what constitutes a regulatory B cell and what role they may play, particularly during early pregnancy. Lastly, we discuss why immunotherapies for the treatment of pregnancy disorders is not widely progressed clinically and speculate on the potential of functional regulatory B cells as the basis of novel immunotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of immune-based pregnancy pathologies.

Keywords: immunotherapy; maternal tolerance; pregnancy; regulatory B cells.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

B-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / immunology*
B-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / metabolism*
Female
Humans
Immune Tolerance
Immunity, Humoral
Immunomodulation
Immunotherapy
Phenotype
Pregnancy
Translational Research, Biomedical