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Before the fertilized ovum reaches the uterus, the mucous membrane of the body of the uterus undergoes important changes and is then known as the decidua. The thickness and vascularity of the mucous membrane are greatly increased; its glands are elongated and open on its free surface by funnel-shaped orifices, while their deeper portions are tortuous and dilated into irregular spaces. The interglandular tissue is also increased in quantity, and is crowded with large round, oval, or polygonal cells, termed decidual cells. Their enlargement is due to glycogen and lipid accumulation in the cytoplasm allowing these cells to provide a rich source of nutrition for the developing embryo. Decidual cells are also thought to control the invasion of the endometrium by trophoblast cells.

Experimentally, human endometrial stromal cells can be decidualized in culture by using analogs of cAMP and progesterone. The cells will exhibit a decidualized phenotype and display upregulation of common decidualization markers such as prolactin and IGFBP1.

References

1. Kearns, M; Lala, PK (March 1983). "Life history of decidual cells: a review". American Journal of Reproductive Immunology. 3 (2): 78–82. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0897.1983.tb00219.x. PMID 6344664. S2CID 28020938.
2. Li, H; Huang, Q; Liu, Y; Garmire, LX (December 2020). "Single cell transcriptome research in human placenta". Reproduction. 160 (6): R155–R167. doi:10.1530/REP-20-0231. PMC 7707799. PMID 33112783. S2CID 225336002.
3. Gellersen, Birgit; Brosens, Ivo; Brosens, Jan (2007-11-01). "Decidualization of the Human Endometrium: Mechanisms, Functions, and Clinical Perspectives". Seminars in Reproductive Medicine. 25 (6): 445–453. doi:10.1055/s-2007-991042. ISSN 1526-8004. PMID 17960529.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 59 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

External links

• Histology image: 19905loa – Histology Learning System at Boston University - "Female Reproductive System: placenta, decidual cells"
• UIUC Histology Subject 1107

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