Halitus Medical Institute, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Am J Reprod Immunol. 2013 Sep;70(3):182-9. doi: 10.1111/aji.12132. Epub 2013 May 6.
Peripheral counts of CD16(+ ) NK cells have been well characterized in reproductive failure. However, not enough case-control clinical studies have been conducted to establish normal or abnormal CD16(+/-) values in the endometrium.
Peripheral and endometrial NK cell counts by FACS, IL-6, and VEGF cytokines levels by ELISA were characterized in fertile women and unexplained infertility patients with implantation failures (UI-IF) during implantation window. ROC and correlation analysis were performed.
Receiver Operating Characteristic(ROC) analysis revealed endometrial CD16(+ ) NK cells, IL-6, and VEGF as good diagnostic parameters for unexplained infertility. Almost half of UI-FI patients showed increased total and CD16(+ ) NK cell counts correlating with decreased levels of endometrial IL-6 and VEGF. No correlation was found with peripheral blood values.
Increased CD16(+ ) NK cells were associated with IL-6 and VEGF deficiency in a high proportion of UI-IF patients. Testing for these immunomarkers could be a potential tool in infertility diagnosis.
外周血 CD16(+) NK 细胞计数在生殖失败中已有很好的描述。然而，对于子宫内膜中 CD16(+/-)值的正常或异常，还没有足够的病例对照临床研究来确定。
通过流式细胞术（FACS）对生育妇女和不明原因不孕（UI）着床失败患者（UI-IF）在着床窗口期的外周血和子宫内膜 NK 细胞计数进行了特征描述，同时还检测了 IL-6 和 VEGF 细胞因子水平。并进行了 ROC 和相关性分析。
受试者工作特征（ROC）分析显示，子宫内膜 CD16(+) NK 细胞、IL-6 和 VEGF 是不明原因不孕的良好诊断参数。几乎一半的 UI-FI 患者表现出总 NK 细胞和 CD16(+) NK 细胞计数增加，同时伴有子宫内膜 IL-6 和 VEGF 水平降低。与外周血值无相关性。
在很大一部分 UI-IF 患者中，增加的 CD16(+) NK 细胞与 IL-6 和 VEGF 缺乏相关。这些免疫标志物的检测可能是不孕症诊断的一个潜在工具。
