A first-year medical student at the Wayne State University School of Medicine was invited by Keystone eSymposia to deliver an abstract on maternal-fetal newborn immunity at an upcoming virtual event to be held Oct. 28-29. 

Meyer Gershater will present “Short Talk: Interleukin-22 Plays a Dual Role in Maternal-Fetal Immunity: Fetal Tissue Injury and Host Defense Against Microbes” from 7:45 to 8 pm. Oct. 28.

For more information on the symposia, including registration, visit https://virtual.keystonesymposia.org/.

The abstract highlights the role of an immune molecule, interleukin 22, that exhibits context-dependent functions in mediating host response to infection, as well as injury to the fetus in the amniotic cavity.

“These outcomes were accomplished by using several experiments using both clinically-relevant human samples and mouse models. This study helps us to better understand the immunological basis of infection in the amniotic cavity during late pregnancy,” Gershater said.

Gershater started working in the lab of Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, Ph.D., more than 18 months ago.

“I feel honored and excited that this abstract was selected to be presented at such a prestigious event. I also feel extremely grateful to my mentors and lab members for their support,” Gershater said. “I think our abstract was accepted because it demonstrates good science with important clinical relevance in the context of maternal-fetal immunity.”

Members of the Gomez-Lopez lab provided mechanistic evidence showing that the immune mediator plays a central role in host response against infection of the amniotic cavity.

“We also discovered that this immune mediator is mainly expressed on the maternal side of the placenta by specific immune cells such as T cells; yet, under special circumstances this mediator can cross the placenta, reaching the amniotic cavity and causing fetal injury. Thus, our findings provide a dual role for interleukin 22 at the maternal-fetal interface during late pregnancy,” Dr. Gomez-Lopez said.

Dr. Gomez-Lopez is section head of the Maternal-Fetal Immunobiology Unit and deputy project site manager for Translational Science at the Perinatal Research Initiative, in support of the National Institutes of Health’s Perinatology Research Branch at WSU.

Her lab’s research is focused on the study of immunobiological pathways in pregnancy and pregnancy-related pathologies, with an emphasis on preterm labor. Visit gomezlopezlab.med.wayne.edu for more information.

“I am proud of our team and everyone who contributed to this study, in particular our chief, Roberto Romero, M.D., D.Med.Sci., as well as lab members Marcia Arenas-Hernandez, MSc, Ph.D.; Jose Galaz, M.D.; Yi Xu, Ph.D.; Kenichiro Motomura, M.D., Ph.D.; Valeria Garcia-Flores, MSc, PhD.; Li Tao, MSc; and Derek Miller, MSc,” she said. “In my opinion, our abstract was accepted because our work is mechanistic, novel and provides a valuable addition to current knowledge of maternal-fetal immunity.”