Immune and trophoblast cells at the rhesus monkey maternal-fetal interface.

To promote the use of the nonhuman primate model for the study of the cellular and molecular biology of maternal-fetal interactions and placental development during early pregnancy, we have developed protocols for the isolation and characterization of placental trophoblasts and decidual immune cells from the rhesus monkey. In this chapter, we provide protocols for trophoblast and decidual immune cell isolation, phenotyping of isolated cells by flow cytometry, and analysis of placental and decidual tissues by immunohistochemistry. Information on antibodies for these analyses are also provided, which is an important consideration when attempting to use anti-human antibodies for the study of nonhuman primates.