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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Choriodecidua and amnion exhibit selective leukocyte chemotaxis during term human labor
Nardhy Gomez-Lopez1, Lourdes Vadillo-Perez, Shereen Nessim
1Research Direction, Instituto Nacional de Perinatologia Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes, Mexico City, Mexico.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to compare the chemotactic activity of the choriodecidua and amnion, and to identify the phenotype of the leukocytes chemoattracted by each tissue.
Study Design:
Amnion, choriodecidua and whole fetal membranes extracts were obtained from women at term (>37 weeks of gestation) with or without labor (n = 5 each). Extracts were assayed for leukocyte chemotactic activity, and the number and phenotype of the chemoattracted leukocytes were characterized by flow cytometry.
Results:
Although all of the extracts exhibited chemotactic activity, more leukocytes were chemoattracted by the choriodecidua and the whole fetal membranes during labor compared with no labor (P = .010, .008). During labor the choriodecidua is responsible for granulocyte, T-lymphocyte, monocyte, and natural killer-cell chemoattraction, and the amnion is responsible for B-lymphocyte chemoattraction.
Conclusion:
Choriodecidua and amnion exhibit chemotactic activity for selective leukocytes and thus, each fetal membrane differentially regulates leukocyte chemotactic activity during labor.
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