FIND ARTICLE

Volume: 
Issue: 
3
Date of issue: 
Labor in mammals leads to the exit of sterile fetus under normal conditions , to the external environment of the uterus , where the baby is exposed to even a number of dangers associated with its immediate contact with a variety of infectious agents (bacteria , viruses and / or pathogenic fungi ) . The immune system in which macrophages are an important component , the body tries to protect not only against pathogens , but other factors posing a danger to the body. Macrophages are antigen-presenting cells (APCs ) and have many important functions , including phagocytosis , related , inter alia, with effective protection against infectious agents . Macrophages are also present in the reproductive tract , both male and female , where the cellular and molecular levels involved in a number of reproductive processes , including the transmission of signals between different cells . The population of macrophages and their operations are controlled by the hormone , including estrogen and progesterone , which , in turn , regulate the amount of a polypeptide of M-CSF ( monocyte-macrophage colony -stimulating factor , also known as CSF - 1 ), which is a major macrophage chemoattractant . Kernels macrophages are involved in the regulation of steroidogenesis . In the female reproductive tract macrophages colonize the ovary , fallopian tube , uterus , cervix and vagina. In the ovary involved in the process of follicular development and oogenesis , and the establishment and functioning of the corpus luteum - they also have the ability to stimulate angiogenesis in tumors of the ovary . An important function of macrophages oviduct is the action via cytokines and prostaglandins , epithelial cells and smooth muscle layer , thus affecting the transport of oocytes and embryos . In cancer, macrophages can participate in the preimplantation embryo development and subsequent implantation . This participation is possible through a cytokine produced by macrophages. The mucous membrane of the cervix and vagina macrophages form a cellular defense mechanisms , and their main function is phagocytosis and antigen presentation to T lymphocytes In addition, some cytokines secreted by macrophages in the cervix can lead to the loosening , which facilitates birth. The presence of macrophages in the reproductive organs of mammals and their participation in immunological processes occurring there is evidence of interaction between the immune system and reproductive . This article describes the current state of knowledge on the role of macrophages in the reproductive tract of mammals and some cytokines that affect this process.
Author of the article: 

The Editorial Board
Andrzej Łukaszyk - przewodniczący, Zofia Bielańska-Osuchowska, Szczepan Biliński, Mieczysław Chorąży, Aleksander Koj, Włodzimierz Korochoda, Leszek Kuźnicki, Aleksandra Stojałowska, Lech Wojtczak

Editorial address:
Katedra i Zakład Histologii i Embriologii Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Poznaniu, ul. Święcickiego 6, 60-781 Poznań, tel. +48 61 8546453, fax. +48 61 8546440, email: mnowicki@ump.edu.pl

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