Research
Supervisor: Professor Ashley Moffett
Ashley Moffett's group researches how the pregnant uterus (decidua) regulates placentation. We are interested in how Natural Killer cells (the most abundant leukocytes in the decidua) interact with trophoblast and other decidual leukocytes. In particular, I am investigating whether KIR2DS5 and KIR2DL5 expressed by decidual Natural Killer cells can recognise ligands on trophoblast and promote trophoblast invasion.
Publications
Male V, Sharkey A, Masters L, Kennedy PR, Farrell LE, Moffett A. The effect of pregnancy on the uterine NK cell KIR repertoire. Eur J Immunol. 2011 Oct;41(10):3017-27.
Apps R, Sharkey A, Gardner L, Male V, Kennedy P, Masters L, Farrell L, Jones D, Thomas R,Moffett A. Ex vivo functional responses to HLA-G differ between blood and decidual NK cells. Mol Hum Reprod. 2011 Sep;17(9):577-86.
