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Immunotherapy prevents recurrent abortion without influencing natural killer receptor status
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Problem:
We assessed the expression of natural killer (NK) receptors in recurrent aborters before and after immunotherapy using their husbands' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
Method Of Study:
Using stored PBMCs from recurrent aborters before and after the immunotherapy, the expression of NK receptors, CD158a, CD158b, CD159 and CD94, were analyzed using monoclonal antibodies for respective receptors. The diversity of killer activatory receptors (KARs) and killer inhibitory receptors (KIRs) was also examined using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method.
Results:
In recurrent aborters, no apparent changes in NK receptor expression and the balance between KARs and KIRs were found before and after the immunotherapy.
Conclusion:
The allo-human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-stimulation caused by the immunotherapy for recurrent aborters did not affect the expression of NK receptors and the ratio of KARs to KIRs regardless of the outcome of subsequent pregnancies, suggesting that recurrent aborters may benefit from the immunotherapy through mechanisms unrelated to alteration in NK receptor status.