Abstract:

Objective    To analyze the distribution of human CD14+CD16- and CD14+CD16+ monocyte subsets in peripheral blood and decidua of women in early pregnancy. Methods    Peripheral blood samples were collected from early pregnant and nonpregnant females. Mononuclear cells were isolated from the fresh decidua of early pregnant females by mechanical trituration and Ficoll gradient centrifugation. The fluorescent intensity of the cells was detected by FCM. Results    The percentage of the peripheral CD14+CD16- monocyte subtype in early pregnant females was lower than that in  non-pregnant controls(P＜0.01). CD14+CD16+ cells (69.13%±7.73%)  and were the major monocyte subset in the decidua of early pregnant females. Conclusion    CD14+CD16+ monocytes become the predominant cell subpopulation of women in early pregnancy. It has been demonstrated that CD14+CD16+ monocyte-derived dendritic cells are efficient producers of anti-inflammatory interleukin-10, so CD14+CD16+ monocytes  might play an important role in forming and keeping the dominance of TH2 cytokine during early pregnancy.

Key words: First pregnancy trimester; Peripheral blood; Decidua; Monocyte