MEMBRANE PHENOTYPE AND EXPRESSION OF PERFORIN AND SERINE ESTERASES BYCD3(-) PERIPHERAL-BLOOD AND DECIDUAL GRANULAR LYMPHOCYTE-DERIVED CLONES

PROBLEM: Human first-trimester pregnancy decidua were found to contain large numbers of perforin (P)-containing cells, which varied in their membrane antigen phenotype. In this study results obtained by analyzi ng CD3-clones derived from human early pregnancy decidua and periphera l blood are reported. METHOD OF STUDY: Decidual tissue was obtained fr om vaginal termination of first trimester normal human pregnancies. CD 3-clones were generated by limiting dilution cloning after the depleti on of CD3(+) lymphocytes. The cell membrane phenotype was determined b y flow cytometry. Perforin was detected by fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FAGS) analysis of permeabilised cells. Serine esterases (SE) were identified by histochemical staining for BLT-esterase. RESULTS: C loned decidual cell populations retained the overall antigenic phenoty pe of freshly isolated decidual natural killer (NK)-like cells. All CD 3(-) clones, either derived from decidua or from peripheral blood cont ained perforin. Serine esterases were present in every decidual clone analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: Limiting dilution cloning allows the clear-cut analysis of homogenous subsets of decidua-derived NK-like clones. The presence of large amounts of perforin in all of the CD3-clones underli nes the extensive transcription of the perforin gene by NK-like lympho cytes.