Table 1.
Maternal HCV (PCR) viral load.
Table 2.
Lymphocyte composition of cord blood, PBMC, placenta and decidua in control and HCV dyads.
Figure 1.
Innate lymphocyte composition of cord blood, placenta and decidua in control and HCV dyads.
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) were detected at similar levels in cord blood and placenta. Decreased pDCs were observed in HCV-exposed subjects compared to healthy controls. Representative flow dot plots for cord blood are shown (a). NKT cells were elevated in decidua compared to placenta and in placenta compared to cord blood. NKT cells are increased in HCV-exposed placenta compared to controls. Multiparameter flow analysis dot plot demonstrating identification of NK, and NKT cell populations (b). Gamma Delta (γδ) T cells are increased in placenta compared to cord blood. HCV-exposed cord blood and placentas had increased γδ T cells compared to healthy controls. Representative flow analysis plot demonstrating γδ T cells in HCV-exposed cord blood (c).
Figure 2.
NKT and NK cell cytotoxicity was measured using flow cytometric analysis of CD107a after stimulation as described in the methods section. NKT cell cytotoxicity was increased in placenta compared to cord blood and is further amplified following HCV exposure. Representative CD107a histogram on placenta (a). NK cell cytotoxicity is increased in placenta compared to cord blood (b). NK cell production of IFN-γ is robust in all compartments (c).
Figure 3.
NK cell surface receptor expression.
Placenta and decidua NK cells express elevated CD69 compared to cord blood. HCV exposure results in decreased NK cell CD69 expression in all tissues. Representative plots of CD69 expression on cord blood are shown (a). Placenta NK cells have increased TRAIL compared to cord blood and decidua. TRAIL is decreased in HCV exposure in all tissues (b). NKp44 expression trends higher in placenta NK cells compared to decidua. NKp44 expressing NK cells are decreased on HCV exposure. Representative multiparameter flow analysis of HCV-exposed and control cord blood NKp44 expression on NK cells is shown (c).