title: Unique CD8+ T cell-rich lymphoid aggregates in human uterine endometrium.
abstract: Using confocal scanning laser microscopy of viable tissue sections, we have demonstrated organized lymphoid aggregates (LA), that have a unique structure, in the stratum basalis of uterine endometrium. These LA consist of a core of B cells surrounded by more numerous T cells and an outer halo of monocytes/ macrophages. The T cells in the LA were almost exclusively CD8+CD4-. These CD8+ LA, in terms of both their T cell and B cell components, were either small or absent during the early proliferative stage of the menstrual cycle, significantly larger in size at mid-cycle and during the secretory phase, and absent in post-menopausal women, suggesting that their development is hormonally influenced. This new finding of a menstrual cycle-dependent, phenotypically unique, organized immune cell structure may lead to new insights into the mechanisms by which the endometrium accepts a semiallogeneic graft while providing resistance to infectious organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756, USA.
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Yeaman
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Guyre
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Fanger
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rathbun
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Orndorff
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Wira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D002449:Cell Aggregation / Q000502:physiology; D004717:Endometrium / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000166:cytology*; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II