Table 1.
Characterization of human natural killer (NK) cells in endometrial, menstrual blood, decidua, and peripheral blood.
| Phenotype | eNK | MBNK | dNK (First trimester) | PBNK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD49a | +++ (49) | +++ (25) | +++ (25) | - (25) |
| CD9 | +++ (50) | ++ (51) | +++ (52, 53) | - (12, 50) |
| CD103 | ++ (49) | ++ (45) | ++ (49) | - (45) |
| CD69 | +++ (54) | ++ (45) | ++ (53)/+++ (55) | + (54)/++ (45) |
| NKG2A | + (56) | +++ (57) | +++ (53, 56) | ++ (57, 58) |
| NKG2C | +~++ (59) | ++ (57) | +~++ (22) | + (57) |
| NKG2D | + (56) | ND | ++ (53, 56, 60)/+++ (55, 61) | +++ (62, 63) |
| KIR2DL1 | +~++ (54, 64) | ++ (57) | ++ (65, 66) | + (65)/+~++ (54) |
| KIR3DL1/S1 | +~++ (58) | ND | ++ (55, 58, 67) | ++ (67) |
| KIR2DL2/L3 | + (64) | ND | +++ (68) | ++ (62, 64) |
| KIR2DL3 | ND | ++ (57) | ++ (65) | + (57) |
| KIR2DS4 | ND | ND | + (55)/++ (52) | ++ (52) |
| KIR3DL1 | +~++ (58) | + (57) | +~++ (58, 65) | + (57, 65) |
| KIR2DL4 | ND | ND | + (55)/++ (69) | ND |
| KIR2DL1/S1 | ND | ++ (57) | ++ (52, 55)/+~++ (67) | ++ (57, 67)/+ (52) |
| KIR2DL2/L3/S2 | ++ (58) | +++ (57) | ++ (55, 58, 65, 67) | ++ (57, 65, 67) |
| NKP44 | + (49, 70) | +(45) | + (49, 60)/++ (55) | - (45) |
| NKP30 | +~+++ (70) | ++ (45) | ++ (53)/+++ (55, 60) | ++ (62, 63) |
| NKP46 | +++ (70) | ++ (45) | +++ (53, 60) | ++ (45, 63) |
| LILRB1 | +~++ (59) | +++ (57) | ++ (53, 55, 65) | ++ (57, 65) |
(-) No expression; (+) <20%; 20%< (++) < 60%; (+++)>60%; ND (Not Detected); eNK, endometrial natural killer cell; MBNK, menstrual blood natural killer cell; dNK, decidual natural killer cell; PBNK, peripheral blood natural killer cell.