Early phases of human pregnancy are associated with the accumulation of a unique subset
of natural killer (NK) cells in the maternal decidua. Decidual NK (dNK) cells that are devoid …

In this review, we first revisit the original concept of “suppressor T-cells” in pregnancy, put it
in a historical perspective, and then highlight the main data that licensed its resurrection and …

Controversy surrounds reports describing the derivation of human trophoblast cells from
placentas and embryonic stem cells (ESC), partly due to the difficulty in identifying markers …

Many common disorders of pregnancy are attributed to insufficient invasion of the uterine
lining by trophoblast, fetal cells that are the major cell type of the placenta. Interactions …

During the first trimester of pregnancy the uterus is massively infiltrated by decidual natural
killer cells (dNK). These cells are not killers, but they rather provide a microenvironment that …

NK cells are the dominant population of immune cells in the endometrium in the secretory
phase of the menstrual cycle and in the decidua in early pregnancy. The possibility that this …

Abstract Killer Ig-like receptors (KIRs) are innate immune receptors expressed by NK and T
cells classically associated with the detection of missing self through loss of their respective …

Based on previous findings supporting HLA-F as a ligand for KIR3DL2 and KIR2DS4, we
investigated the potential for MHC-I open conformers (OCs) as ligands for KIR3DS1 and …

Tissue-specific NK cells are abundant in the pregnant uterus and interact with invading
placental trophoblast cells that transform the maternal arteries to increase the fetoplacental …

We have examined the transcriptional changes associated with differentiation from villous to
extravillous trophoblast using a whole genome microarray. Villous trophoblast (VT) is in …