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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Human Placental and Decidual Organ Cultures to Study Infections at the Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: July 21, 2016
Gamma-delta T cells in midgestation human placental villi
E A Bonney1, J Pudney, D J Anderson
1Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. ebonney@emory.edu
Abstract:
One question that remains is how the immune system at the maternal-fetal interface supports tolerance of the fetus while at the same time protecting it from infection. A potential answer is that local innate immunity is augmented while adaptive immunity is downregulated. In this study, we focus on T cells of the gamma-delta lineage, thought to be important in certain innate responses. Using tissue from normal pregnancies, we documented the presence of gamma-delta T cells and their counterpart, alpha-beta T cells, in midgestation human placental villi. The variable presence of these two T cell lineages in this anatomic site may suggest differential regulation, and herein we describe potential mechanisms for this phenomenon.

