Full Description
Infertility is an increasing problem in many societies. The success rate of assisted reproduction is still below 30%, although the treatments and techniques have improved continuously. An important but often underestimated aspect of fertility and infertility is the immunology of gametes and the early embryo. Sperm is a potential target for autoimmunity in men and alloimmunity in women, but physiologically, such immunoreactions do not occur. Although the preimplantation embryo is semiallogeneic to the mother, no destructive reaction occurs but her uterus prepares a unique, finely balanced immunological environment around the implantation site, which is indispensable for successful early pregnancy. This book provides an overview of the current knowledge of physiological and pathological immune reactions which favor or disturb fertility. The regulation of embryo implantation and trophoblast invasion through cytokines, growth factors and other pregnancy-related immunoregulatory molecules is described in detail.Autoimmunity and allergy are presented as possible causes of reproductive failure. With contributions by leading international groups this volume provides a valuable introduction for those readers who are not yet familiar with the immunology of reproduction while it also serves to update specialists on the most recent findings in the field.
Contents
Preface; Immunology of the Male Reproductive System, Male Infertility and Contraception; Immune Privilege and Inflammation of the Testis: Schuppe, H.-C.; Meinhardt, A; The Role of Antisperm Antibodies during Fertilization and for Immunological Infertility: Bohring, C; Krause, W; Target Antigens for Sperm-Immobilizing Antibodies Found in Infertile Women: Hasegawa, A.; Koyama, K; Implantation, Female Infertility, IVF, Contraception; Cytokines and Implantation: Chaouat, G.; Ledee-Bataille, N.; Chea, K.B.; Dubanchet, S; T Helper 1 and 2 Immune Responses in Relationship to Pregnancy, Nonpregnancy, Recurrent Spontaneous Abortions and Infertility of Repeated Implantation Failures: Kwak-Kim, J.Y.H.; Gilman-Sachs, A.; Kim, C.E; Relationship between Cytokine Concentration in Serum, Preovulatory Follicular Fluid and IVF/ICSI Outcome: Hammadeh, M.E.; Fischer-Hammadeh, C.; Amer, A.S.; Rosenbaum P.; Schmidt, W; Immunocontraceptive Approaches in Females: Gupta, S.K.; Chakravarty, S.; Kadunganattil, S; Pregnancy-Associated Immunoregulatory Molecules Discovered in Ruminants and Their Possible Relevance to Other Species: Hansen, P.J.; Tekin, S; Intravenous Immunoglobulin in the Prevention of Recurrent Miscarriage: Does It Work?: Christiansen, O.B.; Nielsen, H.S; Aspects of Allergy and Autoimmunity Before and During Pregnancy; IgE-Mediated Allergy against Human Seminal Plasma: Weldinger, S.; Ring, J.; Kohn, F.M; Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Reproductive Failure: Ulcova-Gallova, Z; Oxidative Stress and Autoimmune Response in the Infertile Woman: Iborra, A.; Palacio J.R.; Martinez, P; Immunoregulation of Trophoblast Invasion; Trophoblast Invasion and Placentation: Molecular Mechanisms and Regulation: Van den Brule, F.; Berndt, S.; Simon, N.; Coulon, C.; Le Goarant, J.; Munaut, C.; Noel, A.; Frankenne, F.; Foidart, J.-M; Signal Transduction in Trophoblast Invasion: Fitzgerald, J.S.; Busch, S.; Wengenmayer, T.; Foerster, K.; de la Motte, T.; Poehlmann, T.G.; Markert, U.R; Author Index; Subject Index.
