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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

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Isolation of Leukocytes from the Human Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: May 21, 2015
Lymphocyte populations in peripheral blood during normal human pregnancy
Clinical and Experimental Immunology
|June 1, 1977
Abstract:
The effects of normal pregnancy on peripheral blood lymphocytes were investigated. The frequencies of thymus-derived and bone-marrow-derived lymphocytes in maternal peripheral blood does not vary significantly throughout pregnancy. This observation implies qualitative rather than quantitative alterations in lymphocyte functions to explain the reduced cell-mediated immune responses seen during pregnancy.
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The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
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The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...

