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Why Doesn’T A Mother Reject A Genetically Different Fetus?, Devora Krumholtz
Why Doesn’T A Mother Reject A Genetically Different Fetus?, Devora Krumholtz
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
Many basic multicellular organisms possess some form of immune response to protect themselves against the invasion of foreign objects. It was not until British scientist, Peter Medawar proposed a fundamental question that changed the way researchers studied the maternofetal relationship. A fetus, being genetically different from its mother should be rejected by the maternal immune system, however, it is not. Researchers have since discovered and developed several mechanisms that aim to explain how the maternal immune system prevents fetal rejection. The formation of a mechanical barrier, general and local suppression of the maternal immune system, and a shift in cytokine …