In human pregnancy normal implantation and development of the feto-placental unit is dependent on transformation of the uterine lining from endometrium to decidua. The formation of decidua is essential for normal pregnancy. In a non-pregnant cycle the endometrium breaks down at menstruation and a similar process occurs in a failing pregnancy at miscarriage. The cellular and molecular processes responsible for formation of decidua or endometrial breakdown are largely unknown. The hypothesis underlying this proposal is that the unusual population of uterine mucosal leucocytes, uterine Natural Killer (N K) cells, play a pivotal role in the critical decision that the secretory endometrium must make either to decidualise or undergo menstruation. The functions of uterine NK cells are unknown, but they are most abundant in species which undergo mucosal decidualisation and they are an integral part of decidua. In non-pregnant cycles they undergo apoptosis 2-3 days preceding menstrual breakdown before there are no other morphological features of menstruation. The specific questions are: 1) Are the NK cells in the uterine mucosa recruited from the blood? 2) What factors in the uterine microenvironment are responsible for triggering NK cell apoptosis or maintaining NK cell survival? 3) Can uterine NK cells influence the process of decidualisation? This work will increase understanding of two crucial processes in human reproductive physiology - decidualisation and menstruation. Therefore this work will have a major impact on women's health. It could lead to novel therapeutic approaches in a wide range of disorders including infertility, miscarriage, disorders due to defective placentation (pre-eclampsia and IUGR) and menstrual disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD039670-03
Application #
6696294
Study Section
Human Embryology and Development Subcommittee 1 (HED)
Program Officer
Yoshinaga, Koji
Project Start
2001-09-21
Project End
2005-07-15
Budget Start
2003-12-01
Budget End
2005-07-15
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$155,787
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Cambridge
Department
Type
DUNS #
226552610
City
Cambridge
State
Country
United Kingdom
Zip Code
CB2 1-TN
Hiby, Susan E; Apps, Richard; Chazara, Olympe et al. (2014) Maternal KIR in combination with paternal HLA-C2 regulate human birth weight. J Immunol 192:5069-73
Trundley, Anita E; Hiby, Susan E; Chang, Chiwen et al. (2006) Molecular characterization of KIR3DL3. Immunogenetics 57:904-16
Hiby, Susan E; Walker, James J; O'shaughnessy, Kevin M et al. (2004) Combinations of maternal KIR and fetal HLA-C genes influence the risk of preeclampsia and reproductive success. J Exp Med 200:957-65