title: Large granular lymphocytes (LGLS) activity in women with spontaneous abortions during the 1st trimester of gestation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite increasing knowledge about the cell subsets that exist in the decidua in normal early pregnancy, little is known about the decidual cell subsets in women with spontaneous pregnancy failure. Decidual large granular lymphocytes (LGLs) are the most abundant lymphoid cell type found in 1st trimester maternal decidua. The function of LGLs remains controversial although freshly isolated LGLs have been shown to exert a weak natural killer cell (NK) activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Decidual leukocytes were investigated in 15 cases of spontaneous abortion and 15 cases of voluntary miscarriage, at 8th, 10th and 12th gestational week using a panel of monoclonal antibodies against Granzyme B (GRAN-B), CD2, CD38, CD56, and CD57 antigens and the immunoperoxidase technique. LGLs were demonstrated with the phloxine-tartazine stain.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a statistically significant increase in the number of CD56 and CD57 positive cells (33.3%) to the advantage of spontaneous abortions (p<0.0001). No statistically significant difference was found in the number of GRAN-B, CD2 and CD38 positive cells in normal early pregnancy and in spontaneous abortion (overall gestational age p=0.22, 8th gestational week p=0.18, 10th and 12th gestational week, p=0.091).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings confirm previous studies referring that LGLs may have a cytotoxic activity similar to the NK activity and suggest an adverse pregnancy outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology-Embryology, Democritus University of Thrace, Dragana, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simopoulos
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karamanidis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kotini
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tamiolakis
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019002:CD56 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D018959:CD57 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D048429:Cell Size; D003656:Decidua / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First
chemical_list: D019002:CD56 Antigen; D018959:CD57 Antigens