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Updated: Jun 15, 2026
Isolation of Primary Human Decidual Cells from the Fetal Membranes of Term Placentae
Published on: April 30, 2018
Accumulation of IL-17-positive cells in decidua of inevitable abortion cases
Akitoshi Nakashima1, Mika Ito, Tomoko Shima
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
Problem:
Th17 cells, a new subset of helper T cells, have been focused on as a producer pro-inflammatory cytokines. It is, however, still unknown how Th17 cells affect pregnancy outcome. We investigated the expression of IL-17-producing cells in human spontaneous abortion.
Method Of Study:
IL-17 expression was analyzed in decidual tissues among normal pregnancy, missed abortion, and inevitable abortion cases by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry.
Results:
IL-17+ cells were accumulated in decidua and were detected in decidual CD4+ T cells and few decidual CD8+ T cells in spontaneous abortion cases. The number of decidual IL-17+ cells in inevitable abortion cases involving active genital bleeding was significantly higher than that in normal pregnancy cases (P < 0.05). On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the numbers of decidual IL-17+ cells between missed abortion cases and normal pregnancy subjects. Furthermore, the number of IL-17+ cells was positively correlated with the number of neutrophils in spontaneous abortion cases.
Conclusion:
IL-17+ cells might be involved in the induction of inflammation in the late stage of abortion, but not in the early stage of abortion.
