Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, MAHSC, University of Manchester, 5th Floor Research, St Mary's Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Placenta. 2010 Jun;31(6):535-44. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2010.03.003. Epub 2010 Mar 27.
Macrophages, known as Hofbauer cells, are most abundant in placental villous stroma in the first and second trimesters. Their functions are not well defined. We have used a combination of in situ and in vitro methods to characterise these cells. Lectin histochemistry and immunohistochemistry were used to identify macrophages in situ. The lectin from Maclura pomifera (MPA) was found to mark cells bearing the CD68 antigen with optimal specificity and selectivity. MPA staining was used to show that they increase in number from mid first to mid second trimester, becoming much less abundant at term. The cells are absent from mesenchymal villi, being associated primarily with villous stroma containing the prominent interstitial channels characteristic of immature intermediate villi. A mixed stromal cell isolate was studied in monolayer culture, including the use of time-lapse microscopy. Cells from first or second trimester tissue contained a subpopulation of about 14-17% of cells that exhibited a macrophage-like morphology and expressed CD68 as well as MPA-binding glycans. These cells were short-lived in monoculture, but could persist in vitro in association with a fibroblast layer for several weeks. They could switch rapidly from a macrophage-like to a fibroblastic morphology, were highly motile and associated in clusters that rapidly formed and dissipated over periods of a few hours. These data suggest that Hofbauer cells play a role in the maturation of mesenchymal into immature intermediate-type stroma. They may be important in the excavation of stromal channels. Their prolonged viability in mixed cultures suggests a paracrine relationship with resident fibroblasts. Their location and migratory behaviour predict an ability to move rapidly around the villous stroma, perhaps within the channel system, and to make transient contacts both with other macrophages and stromal cells.
巨噬细胞，也称为豪夫鲍尔细胞，在妊娠早期和中期的胎盘绒毛间质中最为丰富。它们的功能尚未明确。我们采用原位和体外相结合的方法对这些细胞进行了特征鉴定。采用凝集素组织化学和免疫组织化学来鉴定原位巨噬细胞。发现从 Maclura pomifera（MPA）提取的凝集素能最佳特异性和选择性地标记表达 CD68 抗原的细胞。MPA 染色显示，这些细胞的数量从中孕期增加到中孕期，到足月时数量减少。间质绒毛中不存在这些细胞，它们主要与含有特征性未成熟中间绒毛间质通道的绒毛间质相关。在单层培养中研究了混合间质细胞分离物，包括使用延时显微镜。来自第一或第二孕期组织的细胞包含一个亚群，约占 14-17%的细胞表现出类似于巨噬细胞的形态，并表达 CD68 以及 MPA 结合糖。这些细胞在单核培养中寿命较短，但在与成纤维细胞层关联的情况下可以在体外持续存在数周。它们可以迅速从巨噬细胞样形态转变为成纤维细胞样形态，具有高度的运动性，并在数小时的时间内迅速聚集和消散。这些数据表明，豪夫鲍尔细胞在间质向未成熟中间型基质的成熟过程中发挥作用。它们可能在间质通道的挖掘中发挥作用。它们在混合培养中的长期存活表明与常驻成纤维细胞之间存在旁分泌关系。它们的位置和迁移行为预示着它们能够在绒毛间质中迅速移动，可能在通道系统内，并且可以与其他巨噬细胞和基质细胞进行短暂接触。
