Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Dec;38(4):179-85.
doi: 10.5653/cerm.2011.38.4.179. Epub 2011 Dec 31.

Hormonal regulation of uterine chemokines and immune cells

Dong-Wook Park  1 , Kwang-Moon Yang
Affiliations

Hormonal regulation of uterine chemokines and immune cells

Dong-Wook Park et al. Clin Exp Reprod Med. 2011 Dec.

Abstract

The ultimate function of the endometrium is to allow the implantation of a blastocyst and to support pregnancy. Cycles of tissue remodeling ensure that the endometrium is in a receptive state during the putative 'implantation window', the few days of each menstrual cycle when an appropriately developed blastocyst may be available to implant in the uterus. A successful pregnancy requires strict temporal regulation of maternal immune function to accommodate a semi-allogeneic embryo. To preparing immunological tolerance at the onset of implantation, tight temporal regulations are required between the immune and endocrine networks. This review will discuss about the action of steroid hormones on the human endometrium and particularly their role in regulating the inflammatory processes associated with endometrial receptivity.

Keywords: Blastocyst; Chemokine; Embryo; Endometrium; Human; Immune tolerance; Immunology; Implantation window; Inflammation; Sex steroid hormone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Presence of progesterone receptor (PR) on peripheral blood natural killer cells by confocal microscopy (A), and flow cytometry (B) (Modified from Arruvito et al. J Immunol 2008;180:5746-53 [28]). DAPI, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Action of progesterone on endometrium in establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. NK, natural killer; PIBF, progesterone induced blocking factor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lessey BA. Assessment of endometrial receptivity. Fertil Steril. 2011;96:522–529. - PubMed
    1. Billingham RE, Brent L, Medawar PB. Actively acquired tolerance of foreign cells. Nature. 1953;172:603–606. - PubMed
    1. Critchley HO, Kelly RW, Brenner RM, Baird DT. The endocrinology of menstruation--a role for the immune system. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2001;55:701–710. - PubMed
    1. King AE, Critchley HO. Oestrogen and progesterone regulation of inflammatory processes in the human endometrium. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2010;120:116–126. - PubMed
    1. Quayle AJ. The innate and early immune response to pathogen challenge in the female genital tract and the pivotal role of epithelial cells. J Reprod Immunol. 2002;57:61–79. - PubMed