|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
J. Exp. Med.,
Volume 187, Number 2, January 19, 1998 217-223
26 Mice
By
From the * Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph,
Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1; and the A large, transient population of natural killer (NK) cells appears in the murine uterine mesometrial triangle during pregnancy. Depletion of uterine (u) NK cells, recently achieved using
gene-ablated and transgenic mice, results in pathology. Pregnancies from matings of homozygous NK and T cell-deficient tg Division of Immunology, Department of Medicine,
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
26 mice have <1% of normal uNK cell frequency, no development of an implantation site-associated metrial gland, and an edematous decidua with vascular pathology that includes abnormally high vessel walls/lumens ratios. Fetal loss of 64% occurs
midgestation and placentae are small. None of these features are seen in pregnant T cell-deficient mice. To confirm the role of the NK cell deficiency in these reproductive deficits, transplantation of tg26 females was undertaken using bone marrow from B and T cell-deficient
scid/scid donors. Engrafted pregnant females have restoration of the uNK cell population, induced metrial gland differentiation, reduced anomalies in the decidua and decidual blood vessels, increased placental sizes, and restoration of fetal viability at all gestational days studied (days
10, 12, and 14). Thus, uNK cells appear to have critical functions in pregnancy that promote
decidual health, the appropriate vascularization of implantation sites, and placental size.
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
