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Pregnancy represents an allograft in so far that half of the antigens are foreign to the mother. Therefore, a bidirectional interaction between the maternal and the fetal immune systems must exist, which could be disturbed by preexisting autoimmune liver diseases. Since nowadays autoimmune liver diseases are increasingly detected as early stage diseases due to modern diagnostic procedures, e.g. in women of childbearing age, and since the number of posttransplant pregnancies has become an issue due to improved survival, questions concerning regnancy, autoimmune liver disease and treatment options with bile acids and/or immunosuppressants are of an ever-increasing interest.
This book, the proceedings of a Falk Workshop held in Freiburg, Germany, on June 2, 2002, is certainly unable to give any definite answers to any of the hundreds of still remaining questions in this fascinating field, but hopefully it will help to stimulate and initiate cooperation among immunologists, bile acid researchers, gynaecologists and internists.
List of contents
List of Principal Authors. Introduction; U. Leuschner. Section I: Immunology of Pregnancy. 1. Intrinsic susceptibility of mouse trophoblasts to NK cell-mediated attack in vivo; A. Erlebacher, et al. 2. Induction of immunological tolerance to fetal antigens during pregnancy; M.S. Vacchio. 3. The influence of pregnancy on cytokine production; J.S. Hunt. 4. MHC expression in the human placenta and role of HLA-G; N. Rouas-Freiss, et al. 5. Ten ways to suppress the maternal immune system; B. Formby, T.S. Wiley. Section II: Pregnancy, Liver Disease and Bile Acids. 6. UDCA therapy and progesterone in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy; H. Reyes. 7. Ursodeoxycholic acid in the treatment of cholestasis of pregnancy: clinical results; J. Palma, et al. 8. Pregnancy and hepatic transport: implications for the pathogenesis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy; M. Arrese, et al. 9. The influence of ursodeoxycholic acid and maternal cholestasis on bile acid transport across the placenta; J.J.G. Marín, et al. 10. Effects of high-dose UDCA on bile acid metabolism of newborns and mothers with cholestasis of pregnancy; G. Mazzela, et al. 11. Immune modulation by cholestasis and bile acids; Y. Calmus, et al. 12. Ursodeoxycholic acid in the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis in pregnancy; J. Holtmeier, et al. Final remarks; P.A. Berg. Index.
