scholarly journals Immunological tolerance in the evolution of male pregnancy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Parker ◽  
Arseny Dubin ◽  
Ralf Schneider ◽  
Kim Sara Wagner ◽  
Sissel Jentoft ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (17) ◽  
pp. 9431-9439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Roth ◽  
Monica Hongrø Solbakken ◽  
Ole Kristian Tørresen ◽  
Till Bayer ◽  
Michael Matschiner ◽  
...  

A fundamental problem for the evolution of pregnancy, the most specialized form of parental investment among vertebrates, is the rejection of the nonself-embryo. Mammals achieve immunological tolerance by down-regulating both major histocompatibility complex pathways (MHC I and II). Although pregnancy has evolved multiple times independently among vertebrates, knowledge of associated immune system adjustments is restricted to mammals. All of them (except monotremata) display full internal pregnancy, making evolutionary reconstructions within the class mammalia meaningless. Here, we study the seahorse and pipefish family (syngnathids) that have evolved male pregnancy across a gradient from external oviparity to internal gestation. We assess how immunological tolerance is achieved by reconstruction of the immune gene repertoire in a comprehensive sample of 12 seahorse and pipefish genomes along the “male pregnancy” gradient together with expression patterns of key immune and pregnancy genes in reproductive tissues. We found that the evolution of pregnancy coincided with a modification of the adaptive immune system. Divergent genomic rearrangements of the MHC II pathway among fully pregnant species were identified in both genera of the syngnathids: The pipefishes (Syngnathus) displayed loss of several genes of the MHC II pathway while seahorses (Hippocampus) featured a highly divergent invariant chain (CD74). Our findings suggest that a trade-off between immunological tolerance and embryo rejection accompanied the evolution of unique male pregnancy. That pipefishes survive in an ocean of microbes without one arm of the adaptive immune defense suggests a high degree of immunological flexibility among vertebrates, which may advance our understanding of immune-deficiency diseases.


Author(s):  
Gladkov S.F. ◽  
Perevoshchikova N.K. ◽  
Chernykh N.S. ◽  
Pichugina Yu.S. ◽  
Surkova M.A.

The current adverse situation associated with the presence of a pandemic of allergic diseases is due to the lack of a scientifically based concept of treatment and prevention. The increased interest of researchers from different countries in the formation of immunological tolerance by modeling the intestinal microbiota is of high importance. Methods of influence on the microbial communities of the child's intestine should be as delicate as possible, taking into account the individual genetic characteristics of the microecosystem and the possibility of anaphylaxis. Until now, probiotic drugs have been widely used to correct dysbiosis, but data is gradually accumulating that there is no convincing evidence base for their use for the treatment and prevention of atopy. The use of bacteriophages is very relevant and one of the promising, actively studied areas of correction of intestinal biocenosis today, which are an alternative to antibiotic and probiotic medications. Selective decontamination of representatives of opportunistic flora, as the main factor in the implementation of the atopic phenotype, makes it possible to preserve and accelerate the formation of a unique and individual composition of the intestinal microbiota of the child, which can form an immunoregulatory balance. More than a century of experience in the use of bacteriophages indicates the safety of their use. Today, bacteriophages are actively used in various fields of practical medicine − obstetrics-gynecology, perinatology, urology, pediatric otorhinolaryngology, in the treatment of purulent-septic and intestinal infections. In some cases, bacteriophages are very effective against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The active personalized use of bacteriophages in real clinical practice will make it possible to solve a number of serious, long-standing health problems in the Russian Federation and to win a world priority in this direction.


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