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Chymase-producing cells of the innate immune system are required for decidual vascular remodeling and fetal growth.

ABSTRACT: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is caused by insufficient remodeling of spiral arteries (SAs). The mechanism underlying the relevance of natural killer cells (NKs) and mast cells (MCs) for SA remodeling and its effects on pregnancy outcome are not well understood. We show that NK depletion arrested SA remodeling without affecting pregnancy. MC depletion resulted in abnormally remodeled SAs and IUGR. Combined absence of NKs and MCs substantially affected SA remodeling and impaired fetal growth. We found that ?-chymase mast cell protease (Mcpt) 5 mediates apoptosis of uterine smooth muscle cells, a key feature of SA remodeling. Additionally, we report a previously unknown source for Mcpt5: uterine (u) NKs. Mice with selective deletion of Mcpt5⁺ cells had un-remodeled SAs and growth-restricted progeny. The human ?-chymase CMA1, phylogenetic homolog of Mcpt5, stimulated the ex vivo migration of human trophoblasts, a pre-requisite for SA remodeling. Our results show that chymases secreted by uMCs and uNKs are pivotal to the vascular changes required to support pregnancy. Understanding the mechanisms underlying pregnancy-induced vascular changes is essential for developing therapeutic options against pregnancy complications associated with poor vascular remodeling.

SUBMITTER: Meyer N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5361184 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Chymase-producing cells of the innate immune system are required for decidual vascular remodeling and fetal growth.

Meyer Nicole N Woidacki Katja K Knöfler Martin M Meinhardt Gudrun G Nowak Désirée D Velicky Philipp P Pollheimer Jürgen J Zenclussen Ana C AC

Scientific reports 20170322

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is caused by insufficient remodeling of spiral arteries (SAs). The mechanism underlying the relevance of natural killer cells (NKs) and mast cells (MCs) for SA remodeling and its effects on pregnancy outcome are not well understood. We show that NK depletion arrested SA remodeling without affecting pregnancy. MC depletion resulted in abnormally remodeled SAs and IUGR. Combined absence of NKs and MCs substantially affected SA remodeling and impaired fetal gr ...[more]

PMID: 28327604

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Project description:Immune cells are critically involved in placental development and functioning, and inadequate regulation of the maternal immune system is associated with placental pathology and pregnancy complications. This study aimed to explore numbers of decidual immune cells in pregnancies complicated with fetal growth restriction (FGR) and stillbirth (SB), and in placentas with histopathological lesions: maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM), fetal vascular malperfusion (FVM), delayed villous maturation (DVM), chorioamnionitis (CA), and villitis of unknown etiology (VUE). Placental tissue from FGR (n = 250), SB (n = 64), and healthy pregnancies (n = 42) was included. Histopathological lesions were classified according to criteria developed by the Amsterdam Placental Workshop Group. Tissue slides were stained for CD68 (macrophages), CD206 (M2-like macrophages), CD3 (T cells), FOXP3 [regulatory T (Treg) cells], and CD56 [natural killer (NK) cells]. Cell numbers were analyzed in the decidua basalis using computerized morphometry. The Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal Wallis test with the Dunn's as post-hoc test were used for statistical analysis. Numbers of CD68+ macrophages were higher in FGR compared to healthy pregnancies (p < 0.001), accompanied by lower CD206+/CD68+ ratios (p < 0.01). In addition, in FGR higher numbers of FOXP3+ Treg cells were seen (p < 0.01) with elevated FOXP3+/CD3+ ratios (p < 0.01). Similarly, in SB elevated FOXP3+ Treg cells were found (p < 0.05) with a higher FOXP3+/CD3+ ratio (p < 0.01). Furthermore, a trend toward higher numbers of CD68+ macrophages was found (p < 0.1) in SB. Numbers of CD3+ and FOXP3+ cells were higher in placentas with VUE compared to placentas without lesions (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001), accompanied by higher FOXP3+/CD3+ ratios (p < 0.01). Elevated numbers of macrophages with a lower M2/total macrophage ratio in FGR suggest a role for a macrophage surplus in its pathogenesis and could specifically indicate involvement of inflammatory macrophages. Higher numbers of FOXP3+ Treg cells with higher Treg/total T cell ratios in VUE may be associated with impaired maternal-fetal tolerance and a compensatory response of Treg cells. The abundant presence of placental lesions in the FGR and SB cohorts might explain the increase of Treg/total T cell ratios in these groups. More functionality studies of the observed altered immune cell subsets are needed.

Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as a cause of congenital brain anomalies and a range of placenta-related abnormalities, highlighting the need to unveil the modes of maternal-fetal transmission. The most likely route of vertical ZIKV transmission is via the placenta. The earliest events of ZIKV transmission in the maternal decidua, representing the maternal uterine aspect of the chimeric placenta, have remained unexplored. Here, we show that ZIKV replicates in first-trimester human maternal-decidual tissues grown ex vivo as three-dimensional (3D) organ cultures. An efficient viral spread in the decidual tissues was demonstrated by the rapid upsurge and continued increase of tissue-associated ZIKV load and titers of infectious cell-free virus progeny, released from the infected tissues. Notably, maternal decidual tissues obtained at midgestation remained similarly susceptible to ZIKV, whereas fetus-derived chorionic villi demonstrated reduced ZIKV replication with increasing gestational age. A genome-wide transcriptome analysis revealed that ZIKV substantially upregulated the decidual tissue innate immune responses. Further comparison of the innate tissue response patterns following parallel infections with ZIKV and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) revealed that unlike HCMV, ZIKV did not induce immune cell activation or trafficking responses in the maternal-fetal interface but rather upregulated placental apoptosis and cell death molecular functions. The data identify the maternal uterine aspect of the human placenta as a likely site of ZIKV transmission to the fetus and further reveal distinct patterns of innate tissue responses to ZIKV. Our unique experimental model and findings could further serve to study the initial stages of congenital ZIKV transmission and pathogenesis and evaluate the effect of new therapeutic interventions. IMPORTANCE:In view of the rapid spread of the current ZIKV epidemic and the severe manifestations of congenital ZIKV infection, it is crucial to learn the fundamental mechanisms of viral transmission from the mother to the fetus. Our studies of ZIKV infection in the authentic tissues of the human maternal-fetal interface unveil a route of transmission whereby virus originating from the mother could reach the fetal compartment via efficient replication within the maternal decidual aspect of the placenta, coinhabited by maternal and fetal cells. The identified distinct placental tissue innate immune responses and damage pathways could provide a mechanistic basis for some of the placental developmental abnormalities associated with ZIKV infection. The findings in the unique model of the human decidua should pave the way to future studies examining the interaction of ZIKV with decidual immune cells and to evaluation of therapeutic interventions aimed at the earliest stages of transmission.

Dataset Information

Chymase-producing cells of the innate immune system are required for decidual vascular remodeling and fetal growth.

Publications

Chymase-producing cells of the innate immune system are required for decidual vascular remodeling and fetal growth.

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