Ernst Rainer Weissenbacher
Monika Wirth • Ioannis Mylonas
William J. Ledger • Steven S. Witkin

2014

The mucosal immune system in the female reproductive tract has evolved to meet the unique requirements of dealing with colonization with commensal microorganisms, sexually transmitted bacterial and viral pathogens, allogeneic spermatozoa, and the immunologically distinct fetus. It is now established that the mucosal immune system is a distinct and separate component of the host’s immune apparatus and differs from the lymphoid tissues in peripheral sites.