LYMPHOCYTES OF HUMAN TERM DECIDUA DECREASE CELL-ADHESION TO A PLASTICSUBSTRATE

Although human decidual lymphocytes have been widely studied, their fu nction and possible interaction with trophoblast are still unclear. He re we show that whereas human early (EDL) and term (TDL) decidual lymp hocytes were unable to kill human trophoblast by necrosis (assessed by the Cr-51-release assay) or apoptosis (DNA fragment assay), TDL but n ot EDL decreased trophoblast adhesion to a plastic substrate as determ ined by a [H-3]thymidine assay. This effect, however, was not selectiv e for trophoblast, as TDL also decreased the adhesion to plastic of hu man decidual stromal cells and HeLa cells. Our results suggest that TD L may play a role in placental detachment during parturition by decrea sing trophoblast or decidual stromal cell adhesion.