Proportion of invariant NKT cells in normal pregnant women at term: an evaluation in peripheral blood, placenta and umbilical cord blood.

摘要

Several mechanisms have been investigated to try to explain how the semi-allogenic fetoplacental unit can be tolerated by the maternal immune system. The leukocyte population present at the uterine decidua during the first half of pregnancy has distinct characteristics. Seventy percent of these cells are CD56~(+bright) natural killer cells (uNK cells), 20% are CD14~+ macrophages and about 10% are CD3~+ T lymphocytes.