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Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Isolation of Uterine Innate Lymphoid Cells for Analysis by Flow Cytometry
Published on: October 14, 2021
Natural killer cells and T lymphocytes in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia
Erin B Taylor1, Jennifer M Sasser2
1Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street Jackson, MS 39216, U.S.A. ertaylor@umc.edu.
Abstract:
Although pre-eclampsia (PE), a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, has significant maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality worldwide, the mechanisms contributing to this disease have not been fully elucidated. Studies in patients and experimental models have shown that changes in the number or function of immune cells of both the adaptive and innate immune systems contribute to the development and pathogenesis of PE. This commentary summarizes our current understanding of the role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of PE, specifically focussing on dysfunction of natural killer (NK) cells and T lymphocyte populations.
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