Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
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Surfactant proteins A and D have extra-pulmonary expression at various mucosal sites including the reproductive tract. Reproductive tissues require a fine immune balance, strong enough to keep infection at a bay and at the same time, subtle enough to support an allogeneic fetus throughout the pregnancy. Roles of SP-A and SP-D have been studied in depth and include immunoregulatory function, besides strengthening the innate immune system against various pathogens in the lungs. Interestingly, levels of SP-A and SP-D in the amniotic fluid increase progressively in pregnancy. SP-A has been implicated in the induction of parturition. The present review elaborates the plausible roles of SP-A and SP-D in pregnancy maintenance and future applications.