A PubMed search came up with the following citation on the Andrew Mellor article:
Science 1998 Aug 21;281(5380):1191-1193
Prevention of Allogeneic Fetal Rejection by Tryptophan Catabolism.
Munn DH, Zhou M, Attwood JT, Bondarev I, Conway SJ, Marshall B, Brown C, Mellor AL
D. H. Munn, M. Zhou, J. T. Attwood, I. Bondarev, S. J. Conway, B. Marshall, A. L. Mellor, Programs in Molecular Immunology and Developmental Biology, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, and Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia (MCG), 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. C. Brown, Department of Pathology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
[Record supplied by publisher]
In 1953 Medawar pointed out that survival of the genetically disparate (allogeneic) mammalian conceptus contradicts the laws of tissue transplantation. Rapid T cell-induced rejection of all allogeneic concepti occurred when pregnant mice were treated with a pharmacologic inhibitor of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), a tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme expressed by trophoblasts and macrophages. Thus, by catabolizing tryptophan, the mammalian conceptus suppresses T cell activity and defends itself against rejection.
PMID: 9712583 |
