REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Immunological Tolerance and Regulation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1610891
This article is part of the Research TopicMaternal-fetal-placental Immune Interactions: Implications for Pregnancy Outcomes and Long-term HealthView all 19 articles
Decidual macrophage subsets and polarization puzzle during the human early pregnancy
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Obstetrics, Huaian Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Huaian, China
- 2Huaian Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Huaian, China
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At the maternal-fetal interface from human early pregnancy, decidual macrophages (dMφs) comprise approximately 20% of the leukocyte population, displaying a distinct immunophenotype characterized by hybrid functional features that transcend conventional M1/M2 polarization paradigms. The dynamic balance between M1-like dMφs and M2-like dMφs in human early pregnancy is closely related to the success of pregnancy. However, the comprehensive subsets profiling of dMφs and the factors influencing polarization haven't been elucidated until recent years. In this review, we first delineate the dMφs compositional proportion and subsets profiling during early gestation. Second, we clarify the mechanisms underlying dMφs recruitment and tissue residency. Finally, we comprehensively synthesize molecular drivers of dMφs polarization and the functional specialization of polarized dMφs in sustaining successful pregnancy. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular network governing dMφs polarization dynamics and their functional contributions to gestational processes will provide crucial insights for developing targeted therapeutic strategies to address pregnancy-related complications.
Keywords: Decidual macrophages, M1-like dMφs, M2-like dMφs, human early pregnancy, polarization
Received: 13 Apr 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Liping Zhang, Huaian Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Huaian, China
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