title: Flow-cytometric characterization of hematopoietic cells in non-pregnant human endometrium.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Immunologic evaluation and quantitation of hematopoietic cells in human endometrium has been difficult to perform, particularly in nonpregnant subjects. In this study, we describe a method for the flow-cytometric characterization of hematopoietic cells present in the endometrium of non-pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Endometrial biopsy samples from normal donors were first mechanically disrupted and filtered to generate a single-cell suspension of leukocyte-enriched endometrial cells. Cells were labeled with a panel of monoclonal antibodies, stained with propidium iodide (PI), and one- or two-color flow-cytometric analysis performed on cells excluding PI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The methodology described in this study was highly reproducible in experiments evaluating the interrun and intrarun variability. We then determined the immunophenotypic profile of endometrial leukocytes from 12 normal females. The majority of leukocytes were T cells (CD3: 47%; CD4: 24%; CD8: 28%) with an important contingent of NK cells (CD56: 32%), the majority of which harbored the unusual CD16-CD56 bright phenotype, and a minority of B cells (CD20: 6%) and monocytes (CD14: 7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Flow cytometry can be used to assess antigen expression on the surface of endometrial leukocytes from nonpregnant women. In future studies, it will be possible to use this approach to investigate the role of immune cell populations in the endometrium of patients experiencing reproductive failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology-Hematology, Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lachapelle
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Miron
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hemmings
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Roy
mesh_terms: D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods; D004717:Endometrium / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014018:Tissue Distribution