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Chapter 6 - Immune cells in the placental bed

from Section 3: - Uterine vascular environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2010

By
Ashley Moffett
Edited by
Robert Pijnenborg ,
Ivo Brosens  and
Roberto Romero
Robert Pijnenborg
Affiliation:
University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven
Ivo Brosens
Affiliation:
Leuven Institute for Fertility and Embryology
Roberto Romero
Affiliation:
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Detroit
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Summary

At the site where the placenta implants there is intermingling of fetal trophoblast cells with maternal tissues. Uterine natural killer (uNK) cells are defined by the high expression of the surface marker CD56 so they are designated CD56superbright. NK cells are not a feature of the myometrium so the behavior of trophoblast in the deeper part of the uterus is independent of their influence. A further potential site where maternal immune cells can interact with endovascular trophoblast is in the spiral arteries in the decidua basalis. All uNK cells express high levels of the inhibitory receptor CD94/NKG2A whose ligand is HLA-E. HLA-G is a non-classical HLA class I molecule that was identified and found to be expressed by trophoblast cells nearly 20 years ago. The overall conclusion is that the local immunity in the human implantation site is an unusual one that is reflected in the cell types present.
Type
Chapter
Information
Placental Bed Disorders
Basic Science and its Translation to Obstetrics
 , pp. 41 - 51
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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