|
|
||||||||
Production by Human Uterine NK Cells in Endometrium1

* Department of Microbiology and Immunology and
Department of Physiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH 03756
The human endometrium (EM) contains macrophages, NK cells, T cells, B cells, and neutrophils in contact with a variety of stromal and epithelial cells. The interplay between these different cell types and their roles in defense against pathogen invasion in this specialized tissue are important for controlling infection and reproduction. TLRs are a family of receptors able to recognize conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns. In this study, we determined the expression of TLRs on uterine NK (uNK) cells from the human EM and the extent to which uNK cells responded to TLR agonist stimulation. uNK cells expressed TLRs 2, 3, and 4, and produced IFN-
when total human endometrial cells were stimulated with agonists to TLR2 or TLR3 (peptidoglycan or poly(I:C), respectively). Activated uNK cell clones produced IFN-
upon stimulation with peptidoglycan or poly(I:C). However, purified uNK cells did not respond directly to TLR agonists, but IFN-
was produced by uNK cells in response to TLR stimulation when cocultured with APCs. These data indicate that uNK cells express TLRs and that they can respond to TLR agonists within EM by producing IFN-
. These data also indicate that the uNK cells do not respond directly to TLR stimulation, but rather their production of IFN-
is dependent upon interactions with other cells within EM.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
A. W Horne, S. J Stock, and A. E King Innate immunity and disorders of the female reproductive tract Reproduction, June 1, 2008; 135(6): 739 - 749. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
T. Zhang, A. Barber, and C. L. Sentman Chimeric NKG2D Modified T Cells Inhibit Systemic T-Cell Lymphoma Growth in a Manner Involving Multiple Cytokines and Cytotoxic Pathways Cancer Res., November 15, 2007; 67(22): 11029 - 11036. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Aflatoonian, E. Tuckerman, S.L. Elliott, C. Bruce, A. Aflatoonian, T.C. Li, and A. Fazeli Menstrual cycle-dependent changes of Toll-like receptors in endometrium Hum. Reprod., February 1, 2007; 22(2): 586 - 593. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |