Najafi Chamgordani Samira, Esmaeil Nafiseh, Hashemi Maryam, Amari Afshin, Seyedtabib Maryam, Ghafourian Mehri
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Int J Reprod Biomed. 2024 Sep 12;22(7):593-604. doi: 10.18502/ijrm.v22i7.16933. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Natural killer (NK) cells play a critical role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Moreover, a normal vitamin D level is remarkably associated with an optimal immune response. So, there may be a probable relationship between these factors and the endometriotic women.
This study aimed to evaluate the percentage of NK cells and their subsets and their relationship with serum levels of vitamin D and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in women with endometriosis.
In this case-control study, 29 women with stage III-IV endometriosis and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. The study was conducted in the Immunology Department of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran between November 2021 and June 2022. The percentage of NK cells and their subsets, including CD56 CD16 , CD56 CD16 and CD56 CD16 were measured in the peripheral blood samples using flow cytometry. Serum levels of vitamin D and IFN-γ were also measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
The mean percentage of NK cells in women with endometriosis increased significantly compared to the control group (p = 0.03). The percentage of CD56 CD16 (p = 0.007) and CD56 CD16 (p = 0.043) increased significantly in women with endometriosis in comparison with the control group, but the percentage of CD56 CD16 subset was not significantly different. No relationship was observed between NK cells and their subsets with vitamin D and IFN-γ in the studied groups.
The study of NK cell subsets and their related factors can be useful in assessing and treating women suffering from endometriosis. However, more comprehensive studies are required to draw definitive conclusions about these observations.
自然杀伤（NK）细胞在子宫内膜异位症的发病机制中起关键作用。此外，正常的维生素D水平与最佳免疫反应显著相关。因此，这些因素与子宫内膜异位症女性之间可能存在某种关系。
本研究旨在评估子宫内膜异位症女性中NK细胞及其亚群的百分比，以及它们与血清维生素D和干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）水平的关系。
在这项病例对照研究中，纳入了29例III-IV期子宫内膜异位症女性和30例健康对照。该研究于2021年11月至2022年6月在伊朗伊斯法罕医科大学免疫科进行。使用流式细胞术检测外周血样本中NK细胞及其亚群（包括CD56⁺CD16⁻、CD56⁺CD16⁺和CD56⁻CD16⁺）的百分比。还使用酶联免疫吸附测定法检测血清维生素D和IFN-γ水平。
与对照组相比，子宫内膜异位症女性中NK细胞的平均百分比显著增加（p = 0.03）。与对照组相比，子宫内膜异位症女性中CD56⁺CD16⁻（p = 0.007）和CD56⁺CD16⁺（p = 0.043）的百分比显著增加，但CD56⁻CD16⁺亚群的百分比无显著差异。在研究组中，未观察到NK细胞及其亚群与维生素D和IFN-γ之间的关系。
对NK细胞亚群及其相关因素的研究可能有助于评估和治疗患有子宫内膜异位症的女性。然而，需要更全面的研究才能对这些观察结果得出明确结论。
