Open AccessUterine Natural Killer Cells and Implantation
Author(s) -
Gendie E. Lash
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
fertility and reproduction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2661-3182
pISSN - 2661-3174
DOI - 10.1142/s2661318221500195
Subject(s) - decidua , trophoblast , spiral artery , stromal cell , biology , cd16 , microbiology and biotechnology , natural killer cell , immunology , andrology , placenta , pregnancy , cancer research , immune system , medicine , fetus , cd8 , in vitro , genetics , cytotoxic t cell , cd3
Decidual leukocytes make up approximately 30% of all decidual stromal cells in early pregnancy, of which 70% are uterine natural killer (uNK) cells. uNK cells are phenotypically distinct from peripheral blood NK cells, being CD56[Formula: see text]CD16[Formula: see text]. A recent single-cell sequencing project of the decidua identified three subsets of uNK cells, but we are yet to determine how they differ functionally. Several roles for uNK cells in implantation are starting to emerge including biosensing of poor-quality embryos, killing of bacteria infected trophoblast, spiral artery remodeling, and regulation of trophoblast invasion. Altered numbers of uNK cells have been identified in several pathological conditions, but whether this is causative of the condition is currently unclear.