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No difference in natural-killer-T cell population, but Th2/Tc2 predominance in peripheral blood of recurrent aborters
Shigeki Shimada1, Kazuya Iwabuchi, Emi H Kato
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Problem:
The aim of this study was to assess the natural-killer-T (NKT) cell population and cytokine expression in the peripheral blood of women with a history of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA).
Method Of Study:
The percentages of CD3+ CD4- CD8- TCRValpha24+ Vbeta11+-NKT cells and cells expressing intracellular interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-4, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha either with CD4+ or CD8+ cells were measured by flow cytometry at the midluteal phases in 15 RSA women and 15 fertile control women.
Results:
No significant differences in the NKT cell percentages were found between RSA and control women. However, in RSA women, the CD4+ IL-4+ cell and CD8+ IL-4+ cell percentages were significantly higher, and the Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 cell ratios were significantly lower, than those in the control.
Conclusions:
Th2/Tc2 dominance was found in the general circulation of RSA women; this finding provokes a new controversy on the Th1/Th2 balance concerning RSA etiology.
