A murine model of NK cell mediated resorption.

There is increasing evidence that some models of immunologically mediated murine embryo demise involve nonspecific lytic effector cells. In this paper, we use two double stranded synthetic RNAs, known as potent interferon inducers and NK cell activators, the Poly (I). Poly (C) and the less toxic Poly (I). Poly (C12U). These polynucleotides enhance fetal resorption rates in both resorption prone and none-resorption prone strains of mice. We have studied the kinetics of the phenomenon, and observed an anti-implantation-like effect of early injection during early pregnancy. The abortifacient effects can be adoptively transferred to naive recipients by spleen cells from Ds RNA injected donors. Such effects are abrogated if the cells are pretreated with anti-NK cell antiserum. The relevance of these findings to the survival of the conceptus is suggested.