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We are curious how the maternal immune system tolerates a ‘foreign’ fetus in healthy pregnancies. We study why and how normal immune regulating mechanisms are altered in pregnancies with complicated outcomes, and how inflammation is linked to altered neonatal development. With this we aim to design new tools to predict and prevent long and short term complications of pregnancy.

Why do some pregnancies end too early? And can we improve the long term (developmental) outcomes for babies that are born too early? These are examples of questions we work on by studying the regulation of the maternal immune system in healthy pregnancies and pregnancies with complicated outcomes.

Our main fields of research concern inflammation in pregnancy:

  • Regulation of the maternal immune system in healthy pregnancy and its complications
  • Regulation of the maternal immune system in women with organ transplants or immune mediated diseases
  • Inflammation during pregnancy and fetal immune and neuro development
  • Prediction and prevention of immune mediated pregnancy disorders
Relevance

We focus on immune mediated complications that have large impact on pregnant women, their partners, and babies itself but also on society. Many complications of pregnancy are mediated by the immune system and related to inflammation. Understanding why inflammation leads to complications in some pregnancies, and long term developmental problems in babies will help to design new tools to predict these adverse outcomes. Moreover, this research will identify new targets for preventive or therapeutic interventions.

Contact

Small profile photo of J.R. Prins
Jelmer Prins Obstetrician and researcher

Internal postcode CB22
PO Box 30.001
9700RB Groningen
The Netherlands