Decidualized human decidual stromal cells inhibit chemotaxis of activated T cells: a potential mechanism of maternal-fetal immune tolerance.

Background: Numerous lines of evidence confirm that decidual stromal cells (DSCs) play a key role in maternal-fetal immune tolerance. Under the influence of progesterone and other hormones, the DSCs go through a process of differentiation (decidualization) during normal pregnancy. In mice, DSCs inhibit the expression of chemokines that attract abortigenic Th1 and Tc cells to the decidua.

Influence of the ectopic location on the antigen expression and functional characteristics of endometrioma stromal cells.

Research Question: Are the alterations observed in the endometriotic cells, such as progesterone resistance, already present in the eutopic endometrium or acquired in the ectopic location?

Design: The response to decidualization with progesterone and cyclic AMP for up to 28 days was compared in different endometrial stromal cell (EnSC) lines established from samples of endometriomas (eEnSC), eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis (eBEnSC), endometrial tissue from healthy women (BEnSC) and menstrual blood from healthy donors (mEnSC).

Results: Usual features of decidualized cells, such as changes in cell morphology and expression of prolactin, were similarly observed in the three types of eutopic EnSC studied, but not in the ectopic cells upon decidualization. Among the phenotypic markers analysed, CD105 was down-regulated under decidualization in all cell types (mEnSC, P = 0.

Stromal cells of the endometrium and decidua: in search of a name and an identity†.

Human endometrial and decidual stromal cells are the same cells in different environments (nonpregnancy and pregnancy, respectively). Although some authors consider decidual stromal cells to arise solely from the differentiation of endometrial stromal cells, this is a debatable issue given that decidualization processes do not end with the formation of the decidua, as shown by the presence of stromal cells from both the endometrium and decidua in both undifferentiated (nondecidualized) and decidualized states. Furthermore, recent functional and transcriptomic results have shown that there are differences in the decidualization process of endometrial and decidual stromal cells, with the latter having a greater decidualization capacity than the former.

Decidualization modulates the mesenchymal stromal/stem cell and pericyte characteristics of human decidual stromal cells. Effects on antigen expression, chemotactic activity on monocytes and antitumoral activity.

Decidual stromal cells (DSCs) are the most abundant cellular component of human decidua and play a central role in maternal-fetal immune tolerance. Antigen phenotyping and functional studies recently confirmed the relationship of DSCs with mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and pericytes, the latter two cell types being closely related or identical. The present study investigated the effect of decidualization, a process of cell differentiation driven by progesterone (P4) and other pregnancy hormones, on the MSC/pericyte characteristics of DSCs.

Perinatal Derivatives: Where Do We Stand? A Roadmap of the Human Placenta and Consensus for Tissue and Cell Nomenclature.

Progress in the understanding of the biology of perinatal tissues has contributed to the breakthrough revelation of the therapeutic effects of perinatal derivatives (PnD), namely birth-associated tissues, cells, and secreted factors. The significant knowledge acquired in the past two decades, along with the increasing interest in perinatal derivatives, fuels an urgent need for the precise identification of PnD and the establishment of updated consensus criteria policies for their characterization. The aim of this review is not to go into detail on preclinical or clinical trials, but rather we address specific issues that are relevant for the definition/characterization of perinatal cells, starting from an understanding of the development of the human placenta, its structure, and the different cell populations that can be isolated from the different perinatal tissues.

Effect of flavonoids on rat splenocytes, a structure-activity relationship study.

Flavonoids are polyphenols frequently consumed in the diet which have been suggested to exert a number of beneficial actions on human health, including intestinal anti-inflammatory activity. Their properties have been studied in numerous cell types, but little is known about their effect on leukocyte biology. We have selected 9 flavonoids (extended to 14 flavonoids plus the related polyphenol resveratrol in some cases) with different structural features to characterize their effects on leukocyte viability, proliferation, and expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (EC 1.

Human decidual stromal cells express HLA-G: Effects of cytokines and decidualization.

Background: Decidual stromal cells (DSC) are the main cellular component of the decidua, the maternal tissue in close contact with fetal trophoblast. Although of mesenchymal origin, DSC exert numerous immune functions that seem to be relevant for the immunological relationship between the mother and fetus. HLA-G, an antigen preferentially expressed by trophoblast, appears to participate in the immune tolerance by the mother of the semiallogeneic fetus.

Follicular dendritic cells are related to bone marrow stromal cell progenitors and to myofibroblasts.

Follicular dendritic cells (FDC) are involved in the presentation of native Ags to B cells during the secondary immune response. Some authors consider FDC to be hemopoietic cells, whereas others believe them to be mesenchymal cells. The low proportion of FDC in the lymphoid follicle, together with technical difficulties in their isolation, make these cells difficult to study.

Contractile activity of human decidual stromal cells. II. Effect of interleukin-10.

Context: Human decidual stromal cells (DSC) are myofibroblast-like cells that express alpha-smooth muscle (alpha-SM) actin, a protein associated with cell contractility. Several lines of experimental evidence in humans and mice show that antiinflammatory cytokines favor normal pregnancy, whereas Th1 and inflammatory cytokines play a role in abortion. We previously demonstrated that IL-2, a Th1 cytokine, increased the contractility of human DSC.

Dietary nucleotides accelerate changes in intestinal lymphocyte maturation in weanling mice.

Objective: Nucleotides, the building blocks of nucleic acids, are normal components of the mammalian diet. These molecules have been implicated in biologic processes, such as the stimulation of the immunologic response. Nucleotides have also been considered as conditionally essential nutrients for infant formulas.

Contractile activity of human decidual stromal cells.

We previously demonstrated that human decidual stromal cells (DSC), the main cellular component of the decidua, are similar in antigen phenotype and structure to myofibroblasts, cells with contractile activity. In this work we isolated and maintained DSC in fibroblast medium, in which these cells show a stable phenotype similar to that of DSC in vivo. Flow cytometric observations showed that most DSC expressed alpha-smooth muscle (alpha-SM) actin, an intermediate filament that is considered a marker of myofibroblasts and is responsible for the contractile activity of these cells.

Decidual lymphocytes of human spontaneous abortions induce apoptosis but not necrosis in JEG-3 extravillous trophoblast cells.

The human decidua contains an unusually high proportion of lymphocytes, mainly NK and T cells, which are potentially cytotoxic to the trophoblast when they are stimulated with certain cytokines. Given the high incidence of spontaneous abortion in humans and other species, our working hypothesis is that decidual lymphocytes are involved in immunological mechanisms that attack the trophoblast and induce abortion when any gestational problem arises. To test this hypothesis, flow cytometry was used to compare decidual lymphocyte populations in first-trimester spontaneous abortions and elective terminations of first-trimester pregnancy.

Absolute counts and distribution of lymphocyte subsets in small intestine of BALB/c mice change during weaning.

The gut immune system is an essential part of the barrier function of the gut. At weaning, major changes can be expected in the number and subset composition of lymphocytes in the small intestine since the gut is exposed to a wide variety of food and microbial antigens, especially when human milk is gradually replaced by weaning foods. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in small intestine lymphocyte subsets in mice during weaning.