Project name: Homo sapiens

Description: A major population of placenta macrophages represented throughout the pregnancy consists of CD14+ macrophages, but their characteristics remain badly understood. Here we purified from placentas at term CD14+ macrophages using positive selection. The phenotyping of CD14+ macrophages performed using flow cytometry revealed that placenta CD14+ macrophages expressed a series of markers distinct of those of circulating monocytes monocyte-derived macrophages.Placenta CD14+ macrophages spontaneously matured in multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) as demonstrated by size, number of nuclei display and specific cytoskeleton organization. Placenta CD14+ macrophages and MGCs were phagocytic cells but the potential of MGCs to mount an inflammatory response was lower than that of their precursors.Placenta CD14+ macrophages and MGCs stimulated with interferon and interleukin-4 were not polarized into typical M1 or M2 profiles. Placenta macrophages exhibited specific activation transcriptional programs. Indeed, principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering show that placental macrophages formed a distinct group from circulating monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. Among placenta macrophages, it was also possible to distinguish CD14+ macrophages and MGCs. In addition, networks based on gene interactions were clearly different in CD14+ macrophages and MGCs.Finally, the microenvironment of placenta CD14+ macrophages governs their differentiation into MGCs because CD14+ macrophages incubated with trophoblasts exhibited exarcerbated characteristics of MGCs and because the co-incubation of circulating monocytes from working women with trophoblast supernatants resulted into the formation of MGCs whereas monocytes from non-pregnant women incubated with trophoblast supernatants did not differentiate into MGCs. Taken together, these results clearly demonstrated specific feaures of placenta CD14+ macrophages.Overall design: Three replicates of each of the following:1. Placental macrophages just after isolation (CD14+ macrophages)2. Placental macrophages after 9 days in culture (MGCs)3. CD14+ cells isolated from PBMC which are extracted from the whole human blood of healthy donors (Monocytes)4. Macrophages derived from monocytes (MDMs)

Data type: Transcriptome or Gene expression

Sample scope: Multiisolate

Relevance: Medical

Last updated: 2011-05-26