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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Expression and function of PDCD1 at the human maternal-fetal interface
Elizabeth S Taglauer1, Ann S Trikhacheva, Joyce G Slusser
1Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, USA.
The failure to reject the semiallogenic fetus by maternal T lymphocytes suggests that potent mechanisms regulate these cells. PDCD1 is a CD28 family receptor expressed by T cells, and its ligand CD274 is strongly expressed by trophoblast cells of the human placenta. In this study, we examined whether human maternal T cells express PDCD1. Immunofluorescence examination of uterine tissues revealed PDCD1 expression on CD3+ cells was low in nonpregnant endometrium but increased in first-trimester decidua and remained elevated in term decidua (P < 0.05). In addition, higher relative proportions of term decidual CD8 bright, CD4+, and regulatory T cells expressed PDCD1 in comparison to autologous peripheral blood (P < 0.05). Term decidual T cells also expressed full-length and soluble PDCD1 mRNA isoforms more abundantly than their peripheral blood counterparts (P
The failure to reject the semiallogenic fetus by maternal T lymphocytes suggests that potent mechanisms regulate these cells. PDCD1 is a CD28 family receptor expressed by T cells, and its ligand CD274 is strongly expressed by trophoblast cells of the human placenta. In this study, we examined whether human maternal T cells express PDCD1. Immunofluorescence examination of uterine tissues revealed PDCD1 expression on CD3+ cells was low in nonpregnant endometrium but increased in first-trimester decidua and remained elevated in term decidua (P < 0.05). In addition, higher relative proportions of term decidual CD8 bright, CD4+, and regulatory T cells expressed PDCD1 in comparison to autologous peripheral blood (P < 0.05). Term decidual T cells also expressed full-length and soluble PDCD1 mRNA isoforms more abundantly than their peripheral blood counterparts (P
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