Embryo biosensing by uterine natural killer cells determines endometrial fate decisions at implantation.

ABSTRACT: Decidualizing endometrial stromal cells (EnSC) critically determine the maternal response to an implanting conceptus, triggering either menstruation-like disposal of low-fitness embryos or creating an environment that promotes further development. However, the mechanism that couples maternal recognition of low-quality embryos to tissue breakdown remains poorly understood. Recently, we demonstrated that successful transition of the cycling endometrium to a pregnancy state requires selective elimination of pro-inflammatory senescent decidual cells by activated uterine natural killer (uNK) cells. Here we report that uNK cells express CD44, the canonical hyaluronan (HA) receptor, and demonstrate that high molecular weight HA (HMWHA) inhibits uNK cell-mediated killing of senescent decidual cell

SUBMITTER: Kong CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8251835 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature