Toll-like receptors in the uterus, cervix, and placenta: is pregnancy an immunosuppressed state?

These findings suggest that the innate immune system is a dynamic system during gestation. The concept of immunosuppression during pregnancy appears to be valid in the placenta only in regard to TLR expression. Research is warranted to determine whether the upregulation in the uterus and cervix during pregnancy is associated with an increased likelihood of responding to a pathogen or serve as a protective mechanism or both.