Project description:Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play crucial roles in maintaining maternal immune tolerance to the semi-allogeneic fetus during pregnancy, but Treg population heterogeneity and tissue-specific functions in human decidua remain largely unknown. Here, we conducted single-cell transcriptomic and T cell receptor sequencing of CD4+ T cells from first-trimester decidua and matched peripheral blood of pregnant women. These analyses identified a highly activated, immunosuppressive CCR8+ Treg subset specifically enriched in decidua (dTregs). CCR8+ dTregs are decreased in recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) patients and abortion-prone model mice. Depletion of this subset with anti-CCR8 antibodies alters the decidual immune profile, increasing susceptibility to fetal loss. The CCR8 ligand, CCL1, is mainly produced by decidual CD49a+ NK cells and is also significantly decreased in RPL patients. By characterizing the landscape of dTregs in human early pregnancy, we identified CCR8+ dTregs as crucial for maintaining maternal-fetal tolerance, suggesting new potential strategies for RPL diagnosis and therapy.
Project description:Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as new players in the fine tuning of embryo development and implantation in mammals via posttranscriptional gene regulation mechanisms. There is also a growing body of evidence showing that miRNA profiles in body fluids may reflect biological processes taking place in the organism. Applying custom made multispecies arrays we aimed to analyze expression profile of circulating microRNAs in serum samples to answer the question whether some of the miRNAs found to be expressed in porcine embryos and trophoblasts or pregnant endometria could be detected in maternal serum.