Flow‐Cytometric Characterization of Hematopoietic Cells in Non‐Pregnant Human Endometrium

Abstract

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.

Phenotypic and functional studies of leukocytes in human endometrium and endometriosis

“…Although it has been suggested that NK cells play an important role in the aetiology of endometriosis, several studies have shown that CD56+ CD16+ 'classical' NK cells are only present in negligible numbers in eutopic and ectopic endometrium Klentzeris et al, 1992;Oosterlynck et al, 1993;Fernández-Shaw et al, 1995;Jones et al, 1996;Lachapelle et al, 1996). In contrast, the unusual CD56+ CD16-eGLs are present in large numbers in eutopic endometrium, but their presence in ectopic endometrium has received scant attention.…”

Mucosal Immunity in the Human Female Reproductive Tract

“…Although the precise function of these cells in the female reproductive tract remains to be established, a role in surveillance against aberrant trophoblast proliferation and uterine invasion has been proposed (King et al, 1996). Using three-color FACS analysis to measure leukocytes throughout the female reproductive tract, Givan et al (Givan et al, 1997) extended the studies of others (Kamat and Isaacson, 1987;Morris et al, 1985;Chen et al, 1995;Bulmer, 1996;Lachapelle et al, 1996a) to demonstrate that immune cells make up a significant population of the cells in the female reproductive tract. Leukocytes (CD45 + cells) isolated by enzymatic digestion before flow-cytometric analysis, accounted for 6-20% of the total cells (nonmyometrial) in the Fallopian tubes, uterus, endocervix, ectocervix, and vagina.…”

“…Lymphocytes are the most abundant type of uterine leukocytes and are found throughout the endometrium as isolated stromal cells, intraepithelial lymphocytes, and as a part of discrete lymphoid follicles (Bulmer, 1996;DahlenbachHellweg, 1975;Kamat and Isaacson, 1987;Morris et al, 1985;Lachapelle et al, 1996a;Loke and King, 1995;Crowley-Nowick et al, 1995;Marshall and Braye, 1987;Tabibzadeh, 1990a). In particular, NK cells and CD3 + T cells, including the CD4 + T helper cells and CD8 + T cytotoxic/suppressor cells, are the two major leukocyte subsets present at approximately 25% and 35-50%, respectively, of the endometrial leukocytes; proportions of these cells exceed those normally found in peripheral blood.…”

Immunity at the Maternal–Fetal Interface

“…Each of the immune cell types in the endometrium possesses distinct cell surface markers that help in their identification. Leukocytes are a major constituent of the maternal-fetal immunity and uterine NK (uNK) cells, CD14 + macrophages, and CD3 + T cells form the three largest leukocyte subsets in the endometrium (Morris et al, 1985;Kamat and Isaacson, 1987;Hunt, 1994;Lachapelle et al, 1996a). Aggregates of a CD19 + B cell core, surrounded by T cells and an outer layer of CD14 + macrophages, were located in the stratum basalis of the normal endometrium (Yeaman et al, 1997;Wira et al, 2008;Dallenbach-Hellweg, 2012).…”