Hemopoietic origin of certain decidual cell precursors in murine pregnancy

Abstract

The possible hemopoietic origin of certain precursors of uterine decidual cells appearing during normal murine pregnancy was investigated in semiallogeneic hemopoietic chimeras with retained or regained fertility. Chimeras were produced by three different methods in two donor-host combinations: F1 [BALB/c female x C3H/HeJ male] cells introduced into the parental strain BALB/c female hosts or F1 [CBA/J female x C57BL/6 male] cells introduced into CBA/J female hosts. Prenatal chimeras (PN) were made by reconstituting mouse fetuses (day 13-17) with 10(6)-10(7) adult bone marrow or fetal liver cells through the yolk sac and they were allowed to be delivered naturally. Neonatal chimeras (NN) were made by injecting 1-2 x 10(7) adult bone marrow cells into the anterior facial vein of neonatal mice (less than 24 hr old). In both cases, experimental animals were raised to maturity. Ovary-transplanted chimeras (OT) were made by injecting 10(7) bone marrow cells into lethally irradiated (9.5 Gy) young adult female mice, followed 6 weeks later with bilateral orthotopic transplants of syngeneic ovary grafts to restore fertility. All female chimeras produced by the three different methods were mated with syngeneic male partners to produce normal pregnancy. The extent of chimerism at the cellular level was determined in all cases by a radioautographic identification of the H-2 phenotype of splenic lymphocytes and decidual cells and macrophages in the collagenase-dispersed decidua at day 11-16 of normal pregnancy, following a sandwich labelling with monospecific anti-H-2 antibodies and 125I-protein A. Morphological discrimination of typical decidual cells from macrophages in the collagenase-dispersed decidua was carried out on the basis of several distinctive markers: presence of surface Dec-1 and Thy-1 and absence of surface F4/80 or latex phagocytosis for decidual cells, in contrast to macrophages which were phagocytic and expressed F4/80 but not Dec-1 or Thy-1. While the degree of hemopoietic chimerism (judged by the incidence of donor-derived lymphocytes in the spleen) varied from animal to animal, in all three groups (PN, NN, and OT) comprising a total of 26 chimeras, the percentage of typical decidual cells expressing donor H-2 phenotype showed an excellent correlation with that for small lymphocytes in the spleen. These results reveal that at least a subpopulation of typical decidual cells of the pregnant uterus has a hemopoietic genealogy. A possible familial relationship of these cells to granulated metrial gland cells remains unclear.

Regulated temporal and spatial expression of the calcium‐binding proteins calcyclin and opn (osteopontin) in mouse tissues during pregnancy

“…In situ hybridization localized the signal specifically to GMG cells and to cells of the decidua basalis. Given the association of OPN with bone development, it is of interest that both these cell types are descendants of bone marrow-derived precursors (Stewart et al, 1983;Johnson et al, 1989;Lysiak and Lala, 1990). Expression of opn by these cells suggests that OPN may mediate maternal-fetal interactions.…”

The Decidua of Early Human Pregnancy: Immunohistochemistry and Function of Immunocompetent Cells

“…Fur ther investigation is required to determine whether a rela tionship exists between these cells and the myelo-monocytic lineage. It has been shown that the decidual stromal granulocytes derive from peripheral blood and the bone marrow, but whether they proliferate and/or differentiate in situ in the decidua remains unclear [9], There is at least one subpopulation of typical decidual cells in the preg nant murine uterus that has a haemopoietic genealogy, but whether these cells correspond to the stromal granulo cytes remains unclear [31 ]. It is probable that macrophage functions are inhibited by decidual stromal cells, and therefore it is possible that stromal granulocytes that share antigenic properties with macrophages can be regu lated by the decidual substratum [32].…”

Maintenance of Decidual Cell Reaction by Androgens in the Mouse1

“…2 Correspondence: Dr. X. Zhang, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Calgary Health Science Centre, 3330 Hospital Drive, NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1. FAX: (403) 220-8431; e-mail: xzhang@acs.ucalgary.ca cells located primarily in the mesometrial triangle, or metrial gland [5,6]. The function of these granulated cells is unclear, but their presence is dependent on DCR [7].…”