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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
Isolation of Primary Human Decidual Cells from the Fetal Membranes of Term Placentae
Published on: April 30, 2018
Dendritic cells are equally distributed in intrauterine and tubal ectopic pregnancies
Birgit Kemp1, Svenja Schmitz, Claudia A Krusche
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH), Aachen, Germany. bkemp@ukaachen.de
Objective:
To examine different stages of dendritic cells (DCs) in intrauterine (IUPs) and viable tubal (VTPs) pregnancies to further elucidate mechanisms of fetomaternal tolerance and extravillous trophoblast invasion.
Design:
Experimental study on patient-controlled material.
Setting:
University hospital.
Patient(S):
Seven women with normal IUPs and ten with VTPs in the first trimester.
Intervention(S):
Suction curettage in IUP, laparoscopy in VTP.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Immunohistochemistry for cytokeratin-7 (trophoblast), CD83 (mature DCs), DEC205 (activated but not fully mature DCs), DC-SIGN (immature macrophage-like DCs), and CD14 (macrophages) alone and in double staining.
Result(S):
The numbers of CD83+ and DEC205+ cells were similarly low in IUP and VTP (0.83 and 0.44 cells/mm2; 2.28 and 2.96 cells/mm2). The number of DC-SIGN+ cells was higher, though without significant differences among the entities examined (57.5 and 47.4 cells/mm2). About two-thirds of DC-SIGN+ cells were also CD14+ in IUP and VTP.
Conclusion(S):
The almost equal distribution of CD83+, DEC205+, and DC-SIGN+ cells in IUP and VTP suggests analogue control mechanisms in intrauterine and extrauterine DC differentiation and a comparable role of these DCs for the development of fetomaternal tolerance.
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