title: To serve and to protect: the role of decidual innate immune cells on human pregnancy.
abstract: The maternal-fetal interface undergoes dynamic changes that promote successful development of the embryo/fetal allograft during pregnancy. This immune privilege of the conceptus is mediated through local and systemic cellular responses. In species in which endometrial decidualization accompanies pregnancy, unique immune cell niches are found. Many studies have addressed the enigmatic roles of uterine (u)NK cells as killers and helpers because they are frequently found in the uterine lining and decidua of normal and pathological pregnancies. Accumulating evidence indicates that uNK cells are induced and transformed by sensing signals within their microenvironment to both protect the mother from the fetal allograft and support the fetus during its development. Here, we review the mechanisms that modulate these functions of uNK cells during pregnancy. We suggest that uNK cells must be tightly regulated in order to serve these two roles and support a healthy pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Women's and Infants' Health, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 25 Orde St., Toronto, ON, M5T 3H7, Canada. jhz.zhang@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Jianhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Women's and Infants' Health, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 25 Orde St., Toronto, ON, M5T 3H7, Canada.|Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dunk
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Anne B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Croy
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Women's and Infants' Health, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 25 Orde St., Toronto, ON, M5T 3H7, Canada.|Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lye
mesh_terms: D051722:ADAM Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D003656:Decidua / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D010064:Embryo Implantation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D010929:Placentation; D011247:Pregnancy; D054340:Receptors, KIR / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D054340:Receptors, KIR; D051722:ADAM Proteins
keywords: Angiogenesis; NK cells; Pregnancy; Tissue remodeling