Role of uterine natural killer cells in angiogenesis of human decidua of the first-trimester pregnancy |
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Authors: | Li GuoHua Huang Wei Xia QingJie Yang KaiXuan Liu RaoFang Zhu HuiLi Jiang Wei |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Immunology, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, 230027 Hefei, China;(2) School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 443 Huangshan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China; |
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Abstract: | Decidualization is accompanied by extensive angiogenesis, which is an essential step in the maturation of new blood vessels
in mammalian pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine a distribution of uNK cells (CD56+ uNK or CD56bright cells) in human decidua of the first-trimester pregnancy, and investigate whether uNK cells in human decidua could express
vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) and/or angiopoietin2 (Ang2). Our immunohistochemical staining results demonstrated
that a great amount of uNK (CD56+) cells scattered throughout the decidual stroma and near endometrial gland and spiral vessels in human decidua. The protein
expression of VEGF-A and Ang2 was detected in decidual stroma cells, capillary endothelial cells and glandular cells in tissue
specimens. There was a positive correlation between microvessel density (MVD) and the number of the CD56-positive uNK cells
in decidual stroma, and also between the number of the CD56-positive uNK cells and VEGF-A protein expression in the tissue.
In addition, we found that uNK cells in human decidua could express VEGF-A mRNA, but not Ang2 mRNA, in isolated uNK cells in human decidua of the first-trimester gestation by combination of LCM and Nested-PCR. Our study
indicated that uNK cells, through expressing VEGF-A, may play an important role in the angiogenic response at the time of
human decidualization and early placenta development. |
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