Materno-fetal immunotolerance: is Interleukin-1 a fundamental mediator in placental viviparity?

We recently showed that IL-1 is also expressed by the placenta of non-mammalian vertebrates, including some squamate reptiles and elasmobranch fishes. The expression of IL-1 at the materno-fetal interface in the phylogenetically oldest extant placental vertebrates suggests that IL-1 is a fundamental regulator of materno-fetal relationships.