Biography

Dr. Tilburgs’ laboratory investigates how maternal immune cells establish immune tolerance to fetal and placental allo-antigens and remain competent to respond to infections both systemically and in placental tissues. Development of novel methods to purify and culture primary human decidual immune cells as well as the invasive HLA-C and HLA-G expressing extravillous trophoblasts (EVT) from placental tissues, during her doctoral and postdoctoral training has led to the extensive characterization of these cells as well as their functional interactions. A major advance of her work was the realization that HLA-C expression on EVT has a dual role in immune tolerance and immunity at the maternal-fetal interface. First paternal HLA-C expressed by EVT is the key molecule that can elicit allogeneic immune responses by maternal T and NK cells and for which maternal-fetal tolerance needs to be established. Secondly, HLA-C is the only classical MHC molecule expressed by EVT that can present a wide variety of peptides to maternal memory T cells and establish protective immunity. In addition, HLA-C is also a major determinant for NK cell inhibition and activation. Current projects in the Tilburgs’ lab include i) Investigation of the mechanisms by which decidual NK cells, effector T cells and regulatory T cells recognize HLA-C allo-antigens and its relevance in the development of pregnancy complications such as spontaneous preterm birth and preeclampsia; and ii) Identification of factors that regulate decidual CD8+ T cell and decidual NK cell function and dysfunction that allows for placental and fetal development, as well as a reversal of their dysfunctional state to provide immunity to placental infections. This work may identify novel mechanisms to induce or activate antigen specific Treg that suppress detrimental placental inflammatory responses and may also reveal unexpected ways to activate NK and T cells to control placental infections and diminish congenital disease due to maternal to fetal transmission of pathogens.