Involvement of decidual Vα14 NKT cells in abortion

摘要

The immunological mechanisms that regulate abortion are largely unknown. Here, we found that a distinct subset of lymphocytes. Va14 NKT cells expressing an invariant antigen receptor encoded by Vcr14/Jα281 and Vβ7 segments. accumulated in the decidua during pregnancy and provoked abortion upon stimulation with α-gaactosyceramide (α-GalCer), a specific ligand for Vα14 NKT celIs. The α-GalCer-mediated abortion was not observed in Vα14 NKT-, lFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor γ-, or perforin-knock-out mice and appeared to be due to the degeneration of embryonic tro- phoblasts mediated by the activated Vα14 NKT cells whose per- forin-dependent killing and production of lFN-y and tumor necrosis factor α were essential. The possible role of the decidual Vo14 NKT cells in the pathogenesis of abortion is discussed.