Role of uterine natural killer cells in angiogenesis of human decidua of the first-trimester pregnancy  

作　　者：LI GuoHua1, HUANG Wei1, XIA QingJie2, YANG KaiXuan3, LIU RaoFang1, ZHU HuiLi1 & JIANG Wei4 1 Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China 2 West China Research Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China 3 Department of Pathology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China 4 Department of Pathology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China 

出　　处：《Science China(Life Sciences)》2008年第2期111-119,共9页中国科学（生命科学英文版）

基　　金：Fund of the Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20050610092)

摘　　要：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.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.

关 键 词：UTERINE natural KILLER cells DECIDUA ANGIOGENESIS VEGF ANG2 

分 类 号：R714[医药卫生—妇产科学]