background: uterine natural killer (unk) cells are the most abundant leukocytes in pre-implantation endometrium and early pregnancy deciduas in humans and rodents. they are associated with structural changes in maternal spiral arteries but regulation of their re-cruitment and activation is incompletely understood. the major subpopulation of unk cells in humans expresses cd56, the neural cell ad...

NK cells express variable receptors that engage polymorphic MHC class I molecules and regulate their function. Maternal NK cells accumulate at the maternal-fetal interface and can interact with MHC class I molecules from both parents. The relative contribution of the two sets of parental MHC molecules to uterine NK cell function is unknown. Here we show that, in mice, maternal and not paternal ...

Natural killer (NK) cells are recruited into the uterine stroma during establishment of the hemochorial placenta and are proposed regulators of uterine spiral artery remodeling. Failures in uterine spiral artery remodeling are linked to diseases of pregnancy. This prompted an investigation of the involvement of NK cells in placentation. NK cell depletion decreased the delivery of proangiogenic ...

The aim of this research was to determine the levels of human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) and endometrial Natural Killer ((e)NK) cell percentages in uterine flushing samples from primary and secondary infertile women. sHLA-G levels were lower in the uterine flushing samples from primary infertile women in comparison with women with secondary infertility. Lower CD56+KIR2DL4+ (e)NK cell percentag...

Decidual NK (dNK) cells, a distinct type of NK cell, are thought to regulate uterine spiral artery remodeling, a process that allows for increased blood delivery to the fetal-placental unit. Impairment of uterine spiral artery remodeling is associated with decreased placental perfusion, increased uterine artery resistance, and obstetric complications such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth...

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 is a site of NK cell development is of particular interest because of the cyclical death and regeneration of the NK population during the menstrual cycle. To investigate this, we searched for NK developmental stage...

Harnessing the immune system has proven an effective therapy in treating malignancies. Since the discovery of natural killer (NK) cells, strategies aimed to manipulate and augment their effector function against cancer have been the subject of intense research. Recent progress in the immunobiology of NK cells has led to the development of promising therapeutic approaches. In this review, we wil...

The major leukocyte population in the decidua during the first trimester of pregnancy consists of NK cells that express receptors capable of recognizing MHC class I molecules expressed by placental trophoblast. These include members of the killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) family, the two-domain KIR (KIR2D), which recognize HLA-C. Interactions between decidual NK (dNK) cell KIR2D and pl...