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LEUCOCYTE BINDING TO THE UTERINE EPITHELIAL CELL SURFACE DURING LECTIN‐INDUCED DECIDUALIZATION
Author(s) -
SHAW TIMOTHY J.,
MURPHY CHRISTOPHER R.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
cell biology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1095-8355
pISSN - 1065-6995
DOI - 10.1006/cbir.1996.0093
Subject(s) - decidualization , epithelium , concanavalin a , stromal cell , decidual cells , uterine horns , infiltration (hvac) , lectin , uterus , biology , decidua , blastocyst , andrology , stroma , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , endocrinology , immunology , fetus , embryo , pregnancy , placenta , embryogenesis , immunohistochemistry , in vitro , biochemistry , physics , cancer research , genetics , thermodynamics
Intra‐uterine injection of the lectin Concanavalin A (ConA) on day 5 of pseudopregnancy induced a rapid and persistent infiltration of leucocytes into the rat uterine stroma. Although the infiltration of leucocytes was seen along the entire length of the uterine horn, areas of stromal oedema, indicative of decidualization (as indicated by a positive Pontamine Sky Blue reaction), were only associated with regions in which leucocytes had crossed the uterine epithelium and were present in the uterine lumen. Ultrastructural evaluation of the interaction of the luminal leucocytes with the apical surface of the uterine epithelium appeared strikingly similar to that of the blastocyst and the uterine epithelium during normal implantation. It is proposed that leucocytes, induced by ConA, may initiate a decidual response in a manner analogous to that of the blastocyst through surface epithelial interaction.