Uploaded November 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
During pregnancy a population of natural killer cells are present in the lining of the uterine wall. Their job is to regulate key developmental processes at the fetal-maternal interface. These cells are known to interact with trophoblast cells, the primary cell of the placenta as it invades into the uterine wall and remodels the mothers arteries. This is to enable blood flow for oxygen and nutrient exchange to support fetal growth and development. However, when trophoblast invasion is insufficient this can lead to diseases during pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and miscarriage. Despite its name, natural killer cells in the uterine wall do not kill but regulate the invasion of the trophoblast. In this video, a natural killer cell in red can be seen approaching a K562 cell in blue (a model for the trophoblast) in a microfluidic device designed to study cell interaction in 3D. The NK cell forms a synapse then departs in a process which lasts an hour and captured with a Zeiss confocal microscope.
During pregnancy a population of natural killer cells are present in the lining of the uterine wall. Their job is to regulate key developmental processes at the fetal-maternal interface. These cells are known to interact with trophoblast cells, the primary cell of the placenta as it invades into the uterine wall and remodels the mothers arteries. This is to enable blood flow for oxygen and nutrient exchange to support fetal growth and development. However, when trophoblast invasion is insufficient this can lead to diseases during pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and miscarriage. Despite its name, natural killer cells in the uterine wall do not kill but regulate the invasion of the trophoblast. In this video, a natural killer cell in red can be seen approaching a K562 cell in blue (a model for the trophoblast) in a microfluidic device designed to study cell interaction in 3D. The NK cell forms a synapse then departs in a process which lasts an hour and captured with a Zeiss confocal microscope.
